Red Strings
by firebenderAnnabeth
Summary: A complement of AUs that follow the guys and gals of the PJO universe.
1. What Is This Feeling?

**So I'm just going to do a little thing where if I stumble upon an AU on tumblr, or if someone gives me a great idea for one, I'll write a short and quick one-shot of it. This will be updated sporadically and very randomly. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked and it's Characters, Cats, or Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus.**

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The first one is the AU prompt:_**i've seen this play about thirty times and you were my favorite character and you did it so beautifully i just had to tell you at stage door oh wait wow you're attractive **_

Living in New York City his whole life, it was almost an unspoken rule that Percy should see a Broadway musical. People flock to the city that never sleeps to see these magnificent musicals and plays. Percy has lived all twenty two years of his life in Manhattan. And he's only seen a Broadway play once. And it was when he was twelve and his mother made him go see Cats with her. It was a horrific experience that he would not want to go through again if he could help it.

Of course Cats is just a train wreck to begin with, so maybe that one horrible experience didn't justify him never wanting to go see a musical ever again. Seeing something terrible should've just made his expectations of musicals higher. It couldn't get any worse. But still, he hasn't stepped foot into a theatre in years.

So when his good friend Piper asked him to come with her to a Broadway musical, Percy was skeptical. Piper was a journalist and was assigned to come see this new show and give a review of it. She didn't want to go alone and had begged him because she knew he had nothing to do that evening. Sometimes Percy cursed her for her persuasive ways. When he agreed Piper jumped up and down like a little kid throwing her arms around his neck hugging him so tightly he thought she might break his ribs.

When the day came to actually go see the musical, Percy still had no idea what he was getting himself into. He stood outside of the Gershwin Theatre waiting patiently for Piper to arrive. She told him to actually dress nicely for once in his life. He was in a casual suit that he just happened to have in his closet for god knows what. His hair was actually brushed nicely and he checked his watch to see what time it was.

7:00 it read. The doors were about to open and Piper was no where to be seen. Percy rolled his eyes because she was always late to gatherings. Percy looked up to see Piper running through the crowds to get to Percy. Her hair was up in a bun with her hair parted to the right. She had on a navy blue dress that had short sleeves, a vneck and was tight fitting on her body. She was carrying a black purse with her. When she saw Percy she smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh god sorry for being late! Traffic's a bitch!"

Percy just rolled his eyes and smiled at his best friend. Piper rummaged through her purse and brought out two tickets and handed one to him. Percy took it and read the title of the musical they were attending.

"Wicked? What the heck is this even about?" Percy asked.

As they walked up to the man with the ticket scanner, Piper explained the basics of what she knew of the musical. Tonight was it's Broadway debut so it was fresh. Since she was part of the New York Times her and Percy got great seats in the orchestra level. They weren't front row, but they were around six rows back from the pit.

There was buzzing of chatter going on inside the theatre. People were excited to see this new show, given most were critics and journalists like Piper. But Percy was actually kind of glad he was coming along with her. It was better than just watching Friends on TV by himself in his apartment.

Percy looked down at the playbill the usher had given him when they took their seats. The cover showed the Wicked Witch of the West smirking while Glinda the good witch was whispering something to her. It was an interesting cover. He flipped through the pages looking at the cast of the musical. So far, this musical looked more promising than the horrors he's seen. Piper had her pen and pad out ready to take notes and observe the Broadway musical. Percy looked down at his watch and it read 7:59.

He turned towards Piper. "Showtime," he whispered.

She gave him a smirk and turned towards the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Broadway debut of Wicked: The Untold Story of The Witches of Oz. We will kindly ask you to refrain from eating, drinking, smoking or flash photography as it can distract the performers of tonight's performance. Without further ado, Wicked," the announcer's voice boomed through the speakers.

The lights dimmed and the opening music started playing from the pit. The ensemble ran on and started to sing the opening song. Percy could already tell it was off to a better start. Glinda, a blonde who can hit the notes high was narrating the beginning of the Wicked Witch of the West's beginnings. Percy already felt bad for her, even though he grew up thinking she was the definition of evil thanks to the Wizard of Oz.

There was already an uproar of applause after the opening number ended. The stage went black and the set switched to a school campus. Finally the main star of the show came running on stage. She has green skin with a blue jacket, dress and boots on. Her hair is black and braided down while a blue beanie is on her head. She has glasses on, and she had startling gray eyes that stood out against the green skin and dark eyebrows and hair. Percy loved this character already. Her voice was magical in Percy's opinion. Just hearing her speak made him at ease.

So when she sang her opening song, Percy knew he was a goner. Her range of vocals blew Percy away. He couldn't believe that one person could sing that well and belt out notes while softly singing others in a split second. When the song ended, applause deafened Percy for the lead actress. She just gave a small smile before running off stage when the stage blacked out. Percy gave a quick glance over to Piper and saw she was scribbling something down quickly.

The number What is this Feeling made Percy and the rest of the audience laugh. The chemistry between the two characters was interesting. He couldn't wait to see how their relationship unfolded throughout the play. When the blonde Fiyero came out, Percy noticed Piper perked up a little when she saw him. Percy had a small smile gracing his face.

_Looks like we both like actors in this musical_, he thought to himself.

As the first act progressed Percy was liking this musical more and more. Elphaba was simply amazing, both acting wise and singing wise. It almost made Percy envious, wishing he could sing like she does. But that dream was nearly impossible; he sounds like a dead seal. (Piper's told him that multiple times).

Now she was wearing a simple black dress and the famous pointed hat that the Wicked Witch of the East wears and is known for. She wears that for a few musical numbers that had Percy bobbing his head along. The music started to get more intense and dark. Percy knew that the climax of the musical was about to occur.

"I'm not afraid," Elphaba said, "The Wizard should be afraid."

Percy's pretty sure he got goosebumps after that line. The song being sung was intense by both Elphaba and Galinda. As the song progressed Elphaba had more fire and passion coming from her words she sung.

When Elphaba went solo and the climax of the song was coming, Percy was at the edge of his seat. Her backstory was finally falling into place. Elphaba was reaching bigger and bigger notes to belt and was singing them flawlessly. The last note of the song, Percy had to resist himself from standing up.

The curtain closed and the lights went up signalling intermission. Percy was speechless; no words could describe how much he loved this musical already. He pulled out the playbill and went to go search for the actress who was playing Elphaba. He had to know who she was.

Her name was Annabeth Chase. And apparently it was her Broadway debut as well. Percy was impressed. She was able to grab the lead role in a new musical, and it was her first one as well. But hearing that powerhouse voice of hers, he had no doubts as to why she was cast as the main part.

"The actress who plays Elphaba has some talent," Piper said putting her pad and pen in her purse.

"I can't believe a voice like that actually exists. I've never heard anything like it," Percy said back, "what do you think of it so far?"

"You tell me first," she said.

Percy narrowed his eyes at his friend. "How about we say what we think at the same time."

Piper seemed to contemplate it before nodding. She held up three fingers and slowly let down one.

"I love it," they said at the same time.

They both laughed at their same answer. "I saw you have the hots for Fiyero hmm?"

She rolled her kaleidoscope eyes and punched him in the shoulder. "You should talk Mr. Elphaba."

"Touche McLean."

The lights dimmed down as the intermission drew to a close. Music started playing again as the curtain opened up for the second act to commence. It was definitely a lot darker than the first act of the musical. The music was darker and more intense it seemed. When Fiyero and Elphaba kissed both Piper and Percy turned to each other with smirks.

"Looks likes our crushes are betraying us," Piper whispered leaning over to Percy.

"How dare they," he said back getting a little giggle out of her.

The next scene is where things start to turn intense and really dark. Fiyero is captured and the transition to the next song is brought by Elphaba rising up in center stage screaming his name. The song is hard and intense. Her gray eyes brought the intensity and fire to a whole new level. Percy was almost scared to look at her eyes which were like storms brewing and causing destruction in it's wake.

Every word she sung brought fierceness, cynicism and frustration that had been building up since the beginning of the musical. When she growled the word wicked, Percy felt like he'd been struck by lightning and all the hairs on his body stood up. He was amazed that she could do something like that to him. As the second half finished and all of it tied together Percy found that he wanted to see this again, and no matter how many times he watched it, he would never tire of watching it.

At the final bows there was a thunderous applause for the cast. The blonde guy who played Fiyero came running down stage and bowed and smiled at the crowd. Piper started clapping a little louder when he came on. Glinda's actress came running on after him and the applause got louder for her. She had a shining smile and waved to the crowd after her bows. Finally, the star of the show (and of Percy's life) came trotting on stage in her full Wicked Witch of the West costume. She raised her hands above her head and bowed smiling. Everyone gave a standing ovation to her, not that Percy could blame the crowd. She was a powerhouse and a knockout. The cast moved forward and they did a collective bow before clapping themselves for a well done performance. That lasted about a few more minutes.

When it died down, the guy who played Fiyero stepped up. The audience quieted down for him and he smiled which Percy could've sworn made Piper swoon a little bit.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Jason Grace and I obviously played the part of Fiyero for tonight's performance. As you all know it was our musical debut and judging by the deafening applause it went well."

This caused laughter to erupt from the audience. Percy let out a small laugh.

"I'm saying this because I'd like to thank the cast and crew for bringing us together to perform for you all tonight. This wouldn't have happened without the stage management, our tech crew and of course the magnificent Orchestra. Give them a hand!"

There was more applause and the conductor and some players stuck their hands and faces out to wave to the audience shortly. There was a bright smile on Jason's face.

He turned his body a little and had his arm stuck out towards the crew.

"How did you all think of our Elphaba tonight?" He asked the audience.

The audience went wild and was whistling, clapping and whooping and hollering at her. If the actress didn't have green paint on her face, Percy would bet she was blushing from the attention.

"Our Elphaba, Annabeth Chase has made her Broadway debut alongside this wonderful musical. Give our powerhouse lead another round of applause and love!"

She gave a curt smile and waved to the audience.

"We hoped you enjoyed our performance tonight. And that you'll come join us again another day. Good night everyone and safe travels!"

Jason stood back and the curtain closed signalling the end of the musical and Percy's night. He was beat.

Percy and Piper ended up seeing the musical ten more times in the past three years. They sat in the same row in Orchestra level (Piper's rich so they always could afford tickets) They eventually dragged a bunch of their friends to come see it with them as well. It was Percy and Piper's favorite musical. And their crushes, Jason and Annabeth were still playing their respective roles.

"You know what, we need to meet them goddamnit. We've seen them too many times not to say something," Piper announced.

So after watching it for the tenth time, they stood outside the stage doors waiting to meet their crushes. Percy was anxious and excited at the same time. She was like a goddess among mortals and he was not worthy to be in her presence.

It was a hot July night with the humidity cranked up. There were many other people waiting to meet the stars and sign their playbills and the crowdedness made Percy a little uncomfortable. But Piper was right. He would be damned if he didn't meet the star of his life Annabeth Chase.

The cast started to trickle out a few at a time. They would take pictures and videos, sign just about anything and were glad to do so. After a while of waiting, Jason and Annabeth were still to show up. Finally the door opened and two blondes walked out laughing at something. The blonde girl had curly hair that reminded Percy of a princess. She had on a blue tshirt and jean shorts as well as worn out black converse. When she turned his way and saw her gray eyes he knew it was Annabeth.

It was weird because he'd never seen her without the black hair, so seeing it naturally was a weird sight. Piper whistled to get the blonde duos attention. Most of the crowd had departed at this time. They both walked over to them with smiles on their faces.

"I'd just like to start off with saying that you two are absolutely phenomenal. Me and my friend Percy over here," Piper said pointing to him, "have seen you perform like ten times. We were there opening night."

Percy gave a shy smile to the blonde duo. Annabeth seemed to stare at him for a few moments. She then snapped her fingers.

"I knew I recognized you two from somewhere. You always sit on the right side of the Orchestra level."

Percy's green eyes widened in shock. "You see us sitting there?" he stammered out.

She let out a laugh that was music to his ears. "Of course. You've been here enough times. I was just waiting to see when you'd confront me on it. You always have your mouth hanging open. Pretty sure I saw drool there once."

His face was burning up and Piper has getting a kick out of his embarrassment. "Well you have the most fantastic and greatest singing voice I've ever heard. I love hearing it. And you play Elphaba so damn well it's amazing."

"She is a powerhouse. I think she's the main reason we keep selling out. Once she leaves, who knows where this musical will go," Jason commented.

"We're going to get some drinks at Brady's two blocks down. Care to join us?" Annabeth offered the best friends.

"Yes!" Piper answered right away.

Everyone laughed at her hurried response. "Well, drinks are on us tonight," Jason said.

And they walked together down to the bar and a new friendship was kindled.

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**There you have it. The Theartre/Wicked AU **

**Hope you enjoyed it. **


	2. Glory Days

**This one follows baseball. Don't worry for those of you that don't know the game, it doesn't describe the actual baseball game so you won't get confused. It focuses on the team rivalries that occur. **

**AU prompt:** **I'm a hardcore Mets fan and you're a hardcore Yankees fan and it's the first game of the Subway Series and we're sitting next to each other with our "families" and a rivalry begins between us but I guess we can be friends too. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Landsdowne, The Subway Series, "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra or Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus. **

**The Subway Series: **_**a series of **__**Major League Baseball **__**games played between teams based in **__**New York City**__**; every potential venue for such games is accessible via the **__**New York City Subway**__**.**_

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It was a sweltering hot June day and to Percy, it was the perfect day to attend a baseball game. Baseball, the all-american sport that every good citizen of America will either, watch, listen or even attend a game if they could. Percy was raised a hardcore Mets fan from birth. The only thing his step-dad Paul loved more than his mom, was his Mets. So it only made sense that Paul bequeath the Mets season tickets to every home game to Percy when he was old enough to be independent.

Percy was ready for the first game of the Subway Series. He had his white and blue pinstriped jersey on with the Mets written in the classic script over the front. He had a white tshirt underneath it because he kept the jersey unbuttoned. Percy considered his Mike Piazza jersey lucky and wore it to every home game. It was only ten AM and the game didn't start till 1:45, so he and his friends would hang out in the parking lot of Yankee Stadium and drink will fellow baseball fans.

He had the cases of Sam Adams in a cooler that he had over his shoulder. The sun was shining down on him and he had his sunglasses on his face to keep him from going blind. He walked down the street from his apartment in Queens to his friends two doors down. He walked up the stairs and buzzed the intercom to their apartment.

"Who is it?" the static voice of Grover came through.

Percy pressed the buzzer down. "Let's go G-man. I don't have all day!"

There was some laughing before it went silent. Percy waited a few minutes for his best friend to come down and join him. When the door opened, a curly redhead with a blue Mets hat and an Al Leiter jersey came skipping out the door. Both men were excited to head out to Yankee Stadium. The Subway Series was a relatively new thing between the two New York teams, only starting three years ago in '97. But Percy loved the idea and had gone to every one and was not going to break the streak of his fourth. The thought of baseball got Percy full of excited energy.

When he was twelve he and Paul had the chance to watch the last two games of the 1986 World Series at Shea Stadium and watch the Mets win the World Series. The stadium shook and noise was deafening. It was one of the only times Percy has ever cried. They hadn't been back since, but Percy thinks that 2000 is the year for them. He tried to stay optimistic.

"Are the rest of the gang meeting us at Yankee?" Grover asked as they made their way to 4 train to head uptown to the Bronx.

"I believe so."

All of his friends who he's grown up with are practically his family. They attend every game with him and they take up a section of seats behind home base at Shea. They had to actually buy tickets for the Yankee's games but it was worth it every year. They couldn't miss something like this.

As they went underground and scanned their subway passes, there was a plethora of people both decked out in Yankees and Mets gear mixing together. Everyone was happy and friendly with each other now before the game. But once the opening pitch begins, there's no friendships.

The subway is crammed with all the people attending the first game of the series. Percy and Grover ended up standing up and holding on to the bar on top of them. No one was speaking to each other, but the excited energy was present anyway. This was one of the reasons why Percy loved New York so much.

The ride is about twenty minutes and once it stops at Yankee Stadium Grover and Percy practically run out of the subway and back onto the streets. They make their way towards the parking lot where the rest of the gang would be waiting for them. As they searched the big parking lot they heard a loud noise. It was an airhorn that made people turn their heads, including Percy and Grover.

They see their friends waving to them like maniacs which cause both men to roll their eyes and smile as they walk over. Leo has his face painted blue and orange and has his hair sprayed the Mets colors as well. And he was also the one to blow the air horn. Beckendorf smiles and holds up a beer before taking a sip of it. Piper was sitting down in a pull out chair with her legs crossed smirking at the men she called friends. Her white Robin Ventura jersey unbuttoned showing a small blue cami underneath.

When Percy approached them he held up the ice cooler of beer in his hand. Cheers erupted from the crowd at the sight of beer.

"We can't drink it all. I don't want to pay for the beer inside alright?" Percy warned.

They gang hangs out for a little while chatting about how excited they are for the first game. Other Mets fans come join them and they talk and bond together because that's just what you do. Mets fan stick together. Once it was coming around game time they all headed towards the entrance to Yankee Stadium.

Thousands of people were making the same way so they waited to get their tickets scanned by the security guard. When it was their turn, he asked Percy what was in the cooler. It was part of the typical gameplan that the group had developed.

"My wife and our daughter are already inside the stadium. It's just all the food and formula my daughter needs for the game," Percy smoothly lied.

The security guard just nodded his head and let him in. The plan worked without fail every time. Once the gang was inside the stadium they made their way to the section they scored thanks to Piper's dad. She usually hated to use money from her family's fame and fortune, but baseball was the one thing she loved and would use it on.

When they got to their section, a bunch of Yankees fans were sitting in the row behind them. It was obvious that they were all friends with each other, and that this was their "section family", just like Percy had his at Shea. One of the Yankees fans spotted them and elbowed their friend.

"Looks like we got a bunch of Mets fans joining us today," he said teasingly.

Percy made his way down the row with his friends in tow. When he sat down and put his cooler of beer in front of him he turned around to face the rivals. Sitting in the seat right behind him was the most beautiful blonde Percy had ever seen. She had the pinstripe jersey with the Yankee insignia on the left and her curly blonde hair was down to her shoulders and covered with a navy blue Yankees hat turned backwards. Her gray eyes were startling and intense.

"You ready to get your asses kicked by the greatest team in baseball?" Percy taunted the rival gang.

The blonde scoffed and rolled her eyes with a smirk. "You wish. We're going to smash your hopes and dreams to win this series; like we always do."

"We ain't called the Miracle Mets for nothin you Yank."

"And we ain't called the Bronx Bombers for shits n giggles. Jeter is going to shut you down today guaranteed." She looked down the row of Percy's friends and raised an eyebrow.

"There's always one in the pack I guess. Who's the painted guy?"

Percy leaned down to where she was looking. When he figured out who it was he let out a laugh and turned back to her.

"Oh that's Leo. He paints himself every game."

She let out a small laugh and pointed down her row. "Like I said, there's always one in the pack. Except I have two."

Two guys had their faces pinstriped and hair spraypainted white and navy blue. They were telling jokes to people in his row which resulted in laughing. Leo and the two guys seemed to be getting along (Percy figured that it was the painting your whole face thing in common).

"Travis and Connor. Brothers but not twins just to clarify," she said.

She put down her sunglasses blocking out her eyes and the sun that was beating down on them. Percy turned around and opened up his cooler full of beer and grabbed two.

"Want a beer?" he asked her.

He could see her raise an eyebrow and smile back at him. She took it from him and opened up the cap with her bare hands and took a refreshing sip.

"How'd you smuggle this in anyway?" she asked with a curious tone.

Percy just shrugged his shoulders. "Said that it was full of food and formula for my non existent daughter. Works every time."

"Smart," was all she said while taking another sip.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls welcome to the first game of the Subway Series at Yankee Stadium. The home team, the New York Yankees will be facing off against the New York Mets!" The announcer John Sterling (who does radio broadcasting of play-by-play) said.

Cheering erupted from the crowd and everyone started to stand up and took off their hats.

"...to sing the National Anthem," John Sterling continued.

The woman sang it beautifully and it echoed all across the stadium. Some people were mouthing the words along, most were just looking at the American flag with pride written on their faces. On the last notes everyone started putting their hats back on, and applause and cheers erupted in the stadium for the woman.

Percy and everyone in his section sat down. He turned around to Annabeth and gave her a smirk.

"Now that it's game time. We can't be friends. But would you like to go to Lansdowne in Riverdale after this where we can potentially be friends?" He smoothly offered.

Percy gave himself a mental pat on the back for that one. It normally doesn't go over that well. She raised a blonde eyebrow and smirked at him.

"Only if the Mets win. Which is highly improbable."

He glared at her and she laughed at him, but he took that as a yes anyway.

The Mets end up winning the first game 12-2. When the game ended Percy stood up and stretched his body before turning around to face the blonde (whose name he learned is Annabeth) with a triumphant smirk written on his face.

"Looks like you're coming with me to Riverdale," Percy said smugly.

"Don't look so high and mighty Piazza boy. The Mets got lucky this time," she said with an annoyed look on her face.

"A deals a deal though. And I'm not bad company I promise. I know the Louis the bartender there, so we'll get free drinks guaranteed," Percy said crossing his arms.

"Well if guaranteed free drinks are involved…" she said in mock thought which caused a pout on Percy's face.

"Okay let's get outta here. If I hear Frankie sing "New York New York" any longer I might make myself deaf."

"Agreed."

They end up mockingly singing along to the song because they know every word (Percy hates it because it's a Yankee song in his opinion).

For the rest of the Subway Series, Percys group and Annabeth's group managed to sit together for the rest of the games. Percy enjoyed having Annabeth's company even though she was the rival team. She was fun to be around and could get free stuff just by acting pretty he found. Which benefited both her and him. The Yankees did end up winning which made Annabeth go I told you so to Percy which got him a little ticked.

"Well just because we lost this series doesn't mean it's over. I'm willing to bet that the Mets make it to the World Series this year," Percy said in a last ditch attempt to not dent his pride.

Annabeth placed a gentle hand on his shoulder with a pitying face displayed on her.

"That's what you tell yourself every year. It's been fourteen long years since you've seen your last World Series. You don't have the Miracle Mets anymore. The Yankees will be going for their third year I guarantee."

"Mark my words Chase. The Mets will make it this year," Percy growled.

"If the Mets make it to the World Series, I'll date you. How about that?" she challenged.

"Well I like you enough to take that bet. You're on. And if the Mets do make it, I'm dragging you down to see them with me."

Her gray eyes narrowed down and got darker. She loved her Yankees as much as he loved his Mets. Making her watch his team would be torture and sacrilege to her. But Percy knew that she wouldn't back down. She spit in her palm and stuck her hand out.

"You're on," she growled back.

They shook on it.

Well as fate would have it, both the Yankees and the Mets faced off in the World Series, creating another Subway Series. Percy had called Annabeth the day the Mets won the playoffs. He was at Shea Stadium and the foundations were shaking as every Mets fan cheered up and down screaming their heads off. Percy was pretty sure some dude kissed him, but he was in such a euphoric state he didn't even care. There were tears coming out of his eyes.

Piper who had this thing called a cell phone gave it to Percy to call Annabeth up and rub it in her face. It was big and heavy, and Percy didn't understand why anyone would want to carry something like that around. She claimed it was for emergencies only. He dialed her number and she picked up after the third ring.

"I can't fucking believe it," was all she said over the line.

"I. TOLD. YOU. SO. CHASE! I'LL SEE YOU OCTOBER 21. _GIRLFRIEND_!" He screamed while crying.

She was laughing on the other end of the line and he could practically see the smile on her face.

"Okay boyfriend. Try not to die tonight, or get too wasted. The fun's only begun," she teased.

Much to Percy's dismay, the Yankees won the World Series. But if he was going to look on the positive side, it was a close series going for the five games, and he got a future wife out of it. Sometimes you can over look rivals both he and Annabeth found out.

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**There you have it. I did extensive research on this to make it accurate as possible. And by research I mean, wikipedia and my dad's experiences at the 2000 World Series that he attended.**

**Hope you enjoyed. Until next time. Don't forget you can leave a suggestion in the review if you want to see it. **


	3. The Stranger

**Here's the next installment of Strings of Fate. The prompt: ****_saw in a park and I pick-pocketed you and you caught me._**

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Annabeth remembers the first time she pick-pocketed someone. She was only seven years old, brought into the world of stealing by two older kids named Thalia and Luke. Annabeth during her childhood moved around constantly because of her father. A professor of history, he always seemed to be in demand and whenever he got offered up a job at a new college, he'd accept it and the entire Chase family would move. She originally lived in Richmond, then moved all the way across the country to San Francisco, again to Boston and finally to Manhattan.

Annabeth never felt like she belonged in her family. Because of this, she was seldom at her apartment down in midtown manhattan. And that is how she found Thalia and Luke. The two older kids were friends with this other kid named Hector, but everyone called him Hermes. He was around fourteen or fifteen when Annabeth was introduced to him. He trained kids like her how to pickpocket the people of New York without getting noticed.

She became the protegee of Hermes watching how he did it skillfully and learning how to do it herself. Hermes had taught her how to distinguish people in Manhattan into three categories: the tourists, the people from the Metropolitan area (Long Island and Westchester) who didn't know how to navigate Manhattan, and the people who lived in Manhattan or one of the boroughs. Annabeth the ever observant one, picked up on this skill quickly surprising even Hermes.

Hermes had taught her how to blend in with the crowds of midtown. Don't wear anything too flashy or bright, keep a neutral look on your face and weave your way through crowds quickly. Never get held up during a pick-pocket because the get away was the most important part. Those were the rules of thumb taught to her. And Annabeth followed those rules every time she pick-pocketed.

Everyone involved in the little entourage was amazed at Annabeth's skill. At seven she was small and could squeeze herself into the crowds. She would make up stories to people who could never resist her gray eyes. While she distracted them, she would grab some money from their purses or wallets that were in back pockets because they were easy to reach. She was so good that even Hermes was impressed.

Annabeth's family had no idea of her petty crimes though. The Chases were a well known family, a respectable family. Her father being an award winning professor and her step-mother having to fill in to be the perfect housewife and her perfect half-brothers. If they ever found out they'd have a conniption and really kick her out of the family. As far as they knew, she was just hanging out with some friends in Central Park doing what normal kids do.

As the years wore on, all the older kids she had befriended moved on with their lives. They had left the life of the little group to go on to bigger and better things. As they all graduated high school and moved away from Manhattan she never saw them again leaving her a lone wolf. Annabeth was okay with that, they were acquaintances at most. She knew they weren't solid friends, but sometimes the small ache of them all leaving was still there at night if she thought about it enough. The tricks of the trade she had learned all those years ago still applied to her daily life. But as she grew older and matured as well, she tweaked the rules a little. Now instead of using her childish cuteness the way she used to, she uses her curves and femininity to lure her victims in.

Of course Annabeth wasn't totally ruthless. She'd usually only go after people she believe wouldn't mind if they were short a few bucks. And now that she was seventeen, she had to watch out for the cops. They weren't be merciful if she was caught. But being caught by the cops wasn't the big fear, it was her parents finding out and having to come bail her out of jail that would be the problem.

Her habit of pick-pocketing has dwindled greatly as she grew up. High school barely gave her any free time on her own and now she was dealing with college applications and hoping that she actually got into them.

Annabeth was a scholar, a straight A student who strived for perfection. She was top of her class, played soccer and ran track during the winter and spring seasons. She was captain of the debate team and part of her school's Model United Nations. She even got to visit the UN with her club once and she will admit it was the coolest thing that's ever happened to her. The pick-pocketing was just a side hobby. No one knew what she did for fun outside school. She wore a mask and was a stranger. Everyone knew Annabeth as the insanely smart girl who seemed to be all-american.

It was a nice spring day out and Annabeth had the urge to try and take some money from unsuspecting people. It had been a while since she did her last pick-pocket, but the urge got the best of her and she was trying to scout out her next victim.

The sun was shining bright beating down on her tan skin. She was wearing a simple white tank top and jean shorts. Her curly blonde hair was up in a messy bun with some little strands hanging down because they refused to be put up. She was sitting down on a wooden bench in Central Park when she zeroed in on her next victim.

There was just something about him that screamed "pick-pocket me please!". Annabeth easily read him as a person who lived here in Manhattan. His body language and confidence that he knew where he was going gave him away. She was trying to figure out why she had quickly spotted him out of the plethora of people in Central Park on this sunny day. Maybe it was the messy mop of black hair or the quick glimpse she got of his startling green eyes that made him stand out. She noticed his eyes went well with the blue flannel he had on and admittedly looked really nice on his body. Annabeth figured it was probably a combination of all of those things.

She quickly stood up and started to tail him without being noticed. In his backpocket she could see his wallet and was waiting for the perfect time to quickly snatch it before he would notice. As he kept walking she slowly inched closer to him closing in on the black haired teenager. Just as she was about to make the grab for his wallet he suddenly turned around and they were face to face.

Being up and close and personal with the black haired stranger Annabeth was startled. She'd never been this close to being caught before. His green eyes were even more stunning this close. They were a swirl of hues of green and some blue mixed in there making for a truly unique eye color. But Annabeth had learned to be quick on her feet and had a sharp mind. So she did the only thing that came to her mind.

She kissed him right on the lips.

The stranger was a really good kisser she realized. His lips tasted like salt and were extremely soft which was surprising. She almost forgot why she was kissing this guy in the first place but quickly got her mind out of the gutter. Annabeth kept kissing him while swiftly taking his wallet out of his back pocket and hiding it in her own. When she finished doing that she broke off the kiss and looked up to his green eyes.

She managed to put on a coy smile. The stranger seemed extremely confused as to what just happened to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks," was all Annabeth said before she ran off away from him.

She made sure that she swiftly weaved her way through the crowd away from the black haired teenager. Annabeth took some paths towards other places in Central Park before stopping at a fountain and sitting on the edge of it. She took out the wallet she had just stolen from the guy and went through it. Inside it had his license, school ID, some gift cards, blood donor card and of course cash.

She learned that his name was Percy Jackson, a senior at Goode High, blood type was AB and he had around eighty dollars in cash on him. It was like a jackpot to Annabeth. She wouldn't take all of his money, but maybe around thirty bucks at most.

"HEY!" A voice screamed.

Annabeth looked up just in time to see someone come running full speed towards her and tackle her into the fountain. The cool water engulfed her and she was pretty sure she swallowed some disgusting public fountain water. When she emerged back up and gasped for air she opened up her eyes to kill whoever it was who drenched her.

"FUCK!" Annabeth screeched loud enough that anyone in a three mile radius could probably hear her.

Annabeth hadn't gotten a good look at the person who'd tackled her into the fountain yet. Water was still in her eyes and the sun was blaring right down onto her making it hard to see anything but blurry shadows.

"I'm so, so sorry," a male voice apologized. There was a quick pause before he spoke again.

"Wait, you fucking robbed me! Why am I apologizing?!"

That's when she realized it was Percy Jackson, the guy she had just stolen his wallet from. She stood up and wiped the water out of her eyes. She quickly looked up at him and pushed him down into the water before breaking out into a sprint and getting the hell out of there.

Annabeth was fast. She played midfield on her varsity soccer team and was a state champ at the hundred meter dash. She could sprint like nobody's business. To also help her case she was able to maneuver crowds pretty well too. But this Percy kid was just as fast as she was much to her surprise and dismay.

She felt a brute force hit her from behind and she instinctively tucked in and rolled forward a few times before landing flat on her back with Percy on top of her. Both were breathing heavy. People gave them weird looks but didn't question the two of them laying down on the hot pavement. After a few seconds of heavy breathing he broke the silence.

"What...the fuck...is your...problem?" he asked in between breaths.

Annabeth remained silent just staring at the guy on top of her. And then she broke out into hysterics. She didn't remember the last time that happened to her and it felt kind of good. This was the first time anyone had caught her in a chase. Not even the NYPD on their little bikes could catch her. So she was impressed. She looked him dead in the eye and quirked a blonde eyebrow up with a little smirk on her face.

"You're fast," was all she said.

He just shrugged his shoulders and looked away from her. He ran a hand through his black hair before turning back to her.

"I play basketball. Coach make's us do a lot of suicides," he remarked.

She nodded in understanding. "Same with soccer, especially for midfielders like myself. Anyway, sorry bout that. Old habits die hard I guess. Everything's in there, you can check."

She was lying to him, he was now thirty bucks short in cash but she had always been the prideful one not willing to admit to everything. She accepted that it was her fatal flaw and embraced it.

He just put the wallet back in his pocket. "It's fine. I trust you."

Those three words sent a jolt of electricity through Annabeth. It felt weird having those words directed towards her. It made her question the sanity of Percy Jackson. Why would he trust her, someone who had stolen his wallet and thirty bucks from him? She crossed her arms against her chest.

"You trust me?" she questioned skeptically.

Both were standing up at this point, the pavement burning their skin worse than the sun at this point. He looked down at her with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah oddly enough. I mean, how could I not after a kiss like that?" he said with a hint of teasing in his voice.

She rolled her eyes and fished out the three tens she had taken out of his wallet. She presented them to him and his green eyes seemed lighter. He took them from her and put it back in his wallet where it belongs.

Something about the way his was smiling at her made Annabeth feel warm and the feeling of butterflies. It was a completely foreign concept to her, but she found that she didn't mind it too much.

"So," he began rubbing the back of his neck, "Can I buy you a pretzel with the money you tried to steal from me?"

She gave him a smile that showed her teeth; a smile she reserved only for people she thought deserved it. "I think I'd like that."


	4. Moonlight Cocktail

**I wrote this 1940s AU a while ago on the pjoaus page on tumblr. You can check it out there too. I personally love this one because I got to use my historical knowledge and love to write it. Enjoy!**

* * *

The war had been going on for three years now. It was 1942 and the United States has been at war between the Axis Powers in Europe consisting of Germany and Italy, as well as in the Pacific against the Empire of Japan. They had only declared war last year when the Japanese air bombed Pearl Harbor leading to President Roosevelt and Congress to officially declare war.

Percy had seen it all. He was born on August 18, 1919 just under a year after the Great War had ended over in Europe that shook everyone down to their very core. When he was ten years old he witnessed the crash and burn of the stock market on Wall Street as well as Black Tuesday. Percy's father, Peter had died right before Percy's birth from exposure to toxic gas in the trenches in France. His mother, Sally nee Jackson, took on her last name despite what everyone else thought and well, so did her son. By the time the Great Depression rolled in, it was the two of them against the world. Percy learned how to survive on the streets, worked petty jobs to scrape up some cents into their pockets for the day.

It only seemed natural that as soon as Percy turned eighteen he enlisted into the Army. You'd think that hearing war stories from his mother via the letters written by his father to his mother, it would push him further away from possibly going to war. But the suffering that they went through, Percy wanted to prove himself. He wanted to get high into the ranks, get decorated and make sure that his mother, who was a saint of God, would never have to suffer ever again.

And that is just what he did.

Percy was part of the American Rifle Company which was a small group of ragtag, gritty Americans who wanted nothing more than to kill Nazis and win this war quickly and save Europe from Hitler and his Third Reich. His commanding officer, Christopher Brunner was one of the Generals of the Army with a five star pentagon on his uniform. He had been Percy's mentor for as long as he could remember. General Christopher "Chiron" (as many people nicknamed him after the wise centaur teacher from Greek mythology" Brunner was a father figure to his commanding officers and to those under his command. He was stern as expected, but his brown eyes weren't intimidating or condescending. He wanted his army to be the best there ever was, and he was willing to help his people out in any circumstances.

Now here he was in the town of Nantes, a little place a few miles away from the Atlantic and his friends had managed to take control of the little town, as well as others in Vichy France. That was the goal of his group, the slowly take control of little towns that were under Axis rule to scare them. So far, the plan had been working. Now he and his group are in a bar in Nantes, drinking over their victory of scaring (more like killing) the Germans out of Nantes. The bartender said drinks were on him for the victory and liberation.

The dingy smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke filled the small underground place. Laughter could be heard as people tried to tell stories from back home over each other. Some of his guys were practicing their horrible french, which out of the corner of Percy's eye he could see the bartender wincing at every time. The record player was playing some jazz making the atmosphere a little more calm. Percy found himself tapping his foot to the beat of the song and humming.

"Perce, c'mon and play with us!" Travis called over with a beer in his hand.

Percy scooted his wooden chair over next to Travis and his brother Connor. They both had cigarettes in their hands taking a puff every couple of seconds. Everyone else seemed to be calm and content with life.

"What are we playing boys?" he asked.

Leo Valdez, the genius mechanic of the group snapped his fingers with his cigarette hanging out of his mouth about to fall out.

"Y'know that game where we write a person or thing for each other and we have to guess what it is," he tried to explain.

Jason Grace, the golden boy of the group and the other co-captain clapped his hands together with a smile on his face. Standing at 6'1" with a stocky build, and the blonde hair perfectly cropped and combed back at all times, he looked like a real life Captain America Percy had read on his days off (which were far and few in between).

"Let's do this."

Everyone took a sheet of paper and a pencil that was on the table and wrote down something before passing it to the left. They all licked it and stuck it on top of their forehead so they couldn't see it.

Just as they were about to start playing, the door screeched open revealing a tall woman in a red dress that hugged her body and went just above her knees. She had black gloves on with a little red hat on with netting covering her face. Her blonde hair was curled up past her shoulders in an elegant way that most women did now a days. Her black heels made her even taller and she walked with a aura of grace and confidence.

Every guy stopped and stared at her with their jaws open. They couldn't really see her face because of the netting of her hat but she slowly walked across the room towards the bartender, her heels making an echoing clicking sound. She put her hands down on the counter and leaned against it. All the guys were infatuated with this woman.

"_Bonjour, je voudrais un verre de whisky s'il vous plaît_," her voice was like an angel speaking.

Percy had never seen someone more beautiful in his entire life. It was like god had sent an angel down upon him and he didn't know how to react. The bartender nodded and got her the shot of whisky she asked for. She thanked him and turned around with the amber liquid in her hand. The netting was raised up revealing her startling gray eyes that made Percy lose his breath for a moment. Her bright red lipstick smile stretched as she made her way over to the table and sat down next to Percy. She looked at all of their uniforms.

"Ah, Americans I see," she said with a heavy accent. Percy couldn't quite distinguish what it was. It sounded like a mix between French and German.

None of them answered her remark as she made eye contact with all of them. She shot down the whisky and put the glass on the wooden table.

"Mind if I play with you men?" she asked.

All of them just nodded yes in silence. They were still stunned by her beauty when she walked in alone. Her sharp, dark brown eyebrows scrunched together in slight confusion and she held out a perfectly manicured hand out.

"Someone going to give me a card or shall I write one for myself and cheat?"

Jason quickly wrote something down and gave it to her face down. She gave a tight smile and placed it on her head like a lady would do.

"So what's your name my fine lady?" Leo finally asked her.

"Anna," she clipped back.

"Beautiful name," Nico di Angelo complimented.

He was from Venice, born right after the March on Rome and Mussolini had taken control over Italy and made it into a Fascist state. His mother and sister booked it out of there by sneaking out into France and immigrating into the United States. He hated the Axis Powers probably more than anyone because they had killed his sister while in France trying to escape. He wanted them all dead as vengeance for Bianca.

"_Merci_," she deadpanned back, her gray eyes staring deeply into the Italian.

"You know, I am very good at this game," she said with a small smile.

"Is that so?" Connor asked.

"_Oui_, I will prove it to you. Am I French?"

The name on her card was King Kong, therefore she was not a human at all. All the men said no and shook their heads. She nodded lighting a cigarette and putting it in her mouth for a puff.

"Am I an a American?" she said with a smirk playing on her lips.

All the men gave a quick chuckle and repeated no to her. She pursed her lips together before taking another puff of the cigarette in her left hand.

"Well you weren't born in America at least," Leo added.

"I've been to America?" was her quick question in response. All the men said yes.

Her gray eyes narrowed and Percy could practically see the gears turning in her head as she thought of the next question.

"Did I have a purpose for coming to America?"

"No not really," Connor added.

The gleam in her eye got brighter as she seemed to be on a roll with the questions. She could tell that she was getting closer to the possible answer.

"Is my land I hail from, what you call exotic?"

Quick yes' came from all around the table as they smoked their cigarettes and drank their beer from their mugs. Percy could see that Anna felt quite comfortable and content around a bunch of military men. She probably hung out with them all the time to do performances and what not. He wouldn't be surprised.

"Am I from the jungle?"

Another round of yes came echoing around. Her smirk was growing bigger by the question.

"Okay, so I'm not from America, I'm from the jungle and my purpose for visiting was not for me, but from others. Now I would usually ask if it's real or fiction but that just seems too easy so I won't," she bragged and leaned back in her seat.

She slowly made eye contact around the table and when she stopped at Percy, she seemed to look deep into his eyes and down into his soul. She maintained that eye contact as she asked the next question.

"Did I come to America on boat?"

Everyone hummed yes.

"Against my will?"

Another yes.

"In chains?"

The guys were getting excited as she was making her way closer to the answer. The answers were getting louder from everyone as well.

"Was I displayed in chains in America?"

"Yes!" Everyone answered.

"Am I Negroes in America then?" she finally asked.

"No."

With a quick shrug of her shoulders she took another drag of her cigarette, blew out the smoke and killed it in the ash tray.

"Then I must be King Kong," she said with finality.

Percy was extremely impressed with her quick ability to figure that out. Her card could've been anything in the world and she was able to narrow it down in less than two minutes. This woman in front of him was extremely intelligent and she knew it. She stood up from her chair and brushed her dress down to get the invisible wrinkles and dust out.

"It's been a pleasure men, and congrats on taking this town away from Hitler. Captain Jackson," she nodded at Percy with a twinkle in her gray eye.

With that she walked out the door.

"Percy! You have to go after her!" Leo exclaimed loudly.

"She was totally baiting you to go to her! Do it now before it's too late! I bet she's waiting outside right now," Jason added.

"Go! Go! Go!" all his friends chanted.

He stood up with his hands out in mock surrender. His friends were right, this beautiful, angelic woman was maybe just as into him as he was to her. He was going to go after Anna and talk to her a little more and privately away from his friends. He put on his military cap and straightened out his jacket before walking out as well. The streets were dark except for the lights above all the shops and homes dimly lighting them up. Down the cobblestone he saw Anna sitting on a bench reading a book. He jogged up to her with a smile on his face.

"Anna!" he called out.

She looked up from her reading and when she saw him, a small smile graced her face. She gently dog tagged the page she was on and closed the book placing it next to her. Her tote bag she was carrying was in her lap and she had her legs crossed at the ankles with her heels touching the stone.

"Percy, I see you've come after me," she slyly said with a smirk.

He walked closer and peered over to see what book she had been reading, obviously waiting for him to show up. The first thing he noticed was the cover was a bright red, just like the dress she was wearing. The second thing he saw was that the book was in German. He looked up at her with his eyebrows raised.

"You can read German?" he asked.

She stood up to face him after this. She was tall to begin with, and with heels she was almost taller than Percy himself. It was a little intimidating considering Percy wasn't a small guy. She had slipped her black gloves on her hands again and was holding them elegantly together.

"And write and speak it. It is my first language after all," she softly told him.

Percy was confused and narrowed his eyes at Anna. He didn't like the way she was smirking and her tone of voice she was using.

"You're not French?" he asked.

"Of course not. I hate the French. Us Germans have had a long and nasty rivalry that we are still fighting about," she told him fixing her hat with calmness.

She took another step forward towards Percy who was starting to feel very uneasy around Anna. She placed a gloved hand on his shoulder slowly looking up at him in the eyes. She really was beautiful up close. On her nose there was freckles sprinkled across and on either side of her cheekbones. Her black eyeliner made her gray eyes even more like a thunderstorm.

"I know all about your American Rifle Company Percy Jackson. And I don't like the way you're killing my soldiers and taking my territory from me," she said in a condescending tone.

"What are you talking about?" he asked getting more angry all of a sudden that she was treating him like an idiot.

"You are the leader of an American force that so far has been successful. I know who you are, and you definitely know who I am," she said with a little more force.

He took a step back from Anna who now had her arms behind her back and a steely glare in her eyes.

"And who exactly are you, 'Anna'?" he growled.

"Only Hitler's best battle taction and the one whose job is to eliminate you," she said like it was no big deal.

Percy knew exactly who this woman was now. He had never seen her in person, or had any pictures of what she looked like, but he knew someone was coming after him, and he knew the name of the assassin. Annabeth Chase.

Her surname is certainly fitting, he stupidly thought to himself for a few seconds.

It was those few seconds of thought where she made her escape from him before he could kill her himself. Percy cursed himself for zoning out being so close to his arch nemesis and kicked the ground in frustration. He wanted to pull his hair out for being so stupid. Percy took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself down. When he finally did he looked back to the bench where Annabeth had perfectly baited him and taunted him right in front of his face. The book she was reading was still on there. He walked up to it and picked it up.

On it read Mein Kampf written by the one and only Adolf Hitler. He opened up the cover to see a little note written on the inside.

It read in perfect script:

_It would be my honor to kill you in battle Percy Jackson. _

_Yours truly,_

_Annabeth Chase _

She even had the audacity to add some xoxo's at the end of it. Percy cursed himself once more before stomping his way back to the bar with the idea of killing the devil in disguise as an angel.

* * *

**And there it is. Until next time :) Look out for some story updates and read my others if you're bored! :) **


	5. Black Velvet

**The next AU! The Prompt is: i had a one night stand the night before i started a college class and WHOOPS I ACCIDENTALLY BANGED THE PROFESSOR**

**So there's no real smut in it cause well, I'm complete shit at writing it so I wasn't even gonna try. Just mentions and implications of sex. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was the day before classes started again and all Annabeth wanted do was get laid. She wasn't really one for serious relationships, one night stands were her forte. It was her third year at Manhattan College and now it was time that she would start really concentrating on her major. She was studying to become an architect, so she majored in both mathematics as well architecture. And as much as she hated to admit it, her father rubbed off on her a little. Her father, a professor of war history at Berkeley University all the way in California, had always sprouted random facts about war growing up. So she secretly developed a love for history as well. So she was minoring in that.

Her punk look would convince people that she was some kind of convict who was hell bent on wreaking havoc on society and ripping it down from the seams. It has always been that way. With the right side of her head shaved off in an undercut, the bottom of her blonde curls dyed a dark red to match with the lipstick she wore, it was something Annabeth had gotten used to. With the multiple piercings on both of her ears, eyebrow and nose she was bound to get some weird looks from elders. Younger people didn't really care all too much these days, a lot of them were doing it.

She worked at the Hard Rock Cafe to help pay for some of her tuition for college. Sure it only helps a little, but every penny is something that brings her closer from getting out of debt. But tonight was her night off, so she and her roommate Piper were going to head off to the bar for the night.

Annabeth was getting ready for her night out when she heard the door knock. Piper opened it up and stepped in already ready. Annabeth was still figuring out what she should wear. It was August so it was still hot and humid all the time. She turned towards her roommate.

"Help me pick out an outfit," Annabeth asked.

Piper raised an eyebrow at Annabeth with her arms crossed against her chest.

"You and I have two different styles. You can only help yourself Beth," Piper responded.

Annabeth groaned and went into her closet to try and find something to wear. She took out a crop top that had half sleeve mesh with atop of a notched sweetheart neckline. It was one of Annabeth's more simple, but favorite shirts. She then picked out olive colored skinny jeans with four inch black boots. Annabeth quickly put on her outfit and put on all the jewelry she wore. She applied her black eyeliner, gray eyeshadow and her signature red lipstick.

"Okay let's head out McLean," Annabeth declared walking out of her room and towards the front door.

* * *

They ended up going to a karaoke bar downtown. Annabeth knew the bouncer, she'd been coming to Apollo's since she was able to pass for twenty one. (Which was her junior year of high school).

It was a standard, dim light bar with booths and the bartenders were in the middle making drinks for everyone who came up. The karaoke stand was in the back and there was a guy doing a really bad and drunk rendition of _Toxic_. It was a Sunday night, but that didn't stop a lot of people from going out anyway. Annabeth turned to Piper.

"Do you want to take a line of shots?" she asked.

Piper shrugged her shoulders. "Might as well."

They both walked over to the bar and Annabeth flagged down the bartender. He made his way over to them and asked what they wanted. Annabeth looked over to Piper and they had a silent conversation and agreement. She turned her head back to the bartender.

"Give us six shots of fireball."

He just raised an eyebrow at them, which Annabeth glared back in response. He took out six shot glasses and filled them all up with the amber colored whiskey. Piper gave her name to start the tab with the bar before the bartender left. The both of them picked up their first shot and held it up in the air.

"To surviving another semester of college," Annabeth toasted.

"And not having our shit together," Piper finished.

They clanked glasses and threw the first shot down their throats. The cinnamon flavor burned Annabeth's throat but she was so used to it that it didn't bother her as much anymore. Both of them put the shot glasses upside down and picked up the next one.

"How you planning to get laid tonight?" Piper asked.

Annabeth threw the second shot down and put the glass down on the bar. Once the burn of the whiskey simmered down she opened her mouth to speak.

"The same way I do it every weekend."

"Singing Black Velvet and acting like a stripper to whoever catches your eye?" Piper asked with a small chuckle.

Annabeth winked at her best friend and clicked her tongue.

"Bingo. Which is why I need to get these shots in now."

Once they finished their shots, Annabeth took out her lipstick out of her pocket and reapplied it. She ruffled her curly hair to give it a more messy look. She turned to Piper with a smirk on her face. Piper already had a shocktop in her hand and rolled her eyes at Annabeth.

"It's showtime."

Annabeth stepped on the platform and took the microphone out of the stand. She's sang this song so many times she didn't need the words to help guide her. All the regulars cheered her when she got on, all knowing that she was aiming to get lucky tonight. The music started to play from the speakers getting Annabeth in the zone. She was shaking her hips to the beat of the music while she was singing.

She got off the podium and was walking around the crowd that formed trying to find her lucky catch. She would touch the shoulders of guys and sing in their faces rubbing her hand over their necks and chests. She could tell that she was doing her job right.

Halfway through the song she found who she was looking for. A guy she assumed was in his mid to late twenties was in a booth drinking a beer and watching her from afar. She started strutting over to him while still singing. When she sat down next to him, he seemed shocked that he almost choked on his beer. She smirked at him.

He had on a red and black flannel on which was buttoned up and the sleeves rolled up on his arms. A mob of black messy hair which was perfect for Annabeth to run her hands through while singing and green eyes that were wide in shock. She scooted closer to him as the song was coming to an end. He looked her right in the eyes as she sang the last note and winked at him.

The crowd clapped loudly for her and she just passed the microphone to the nearest person to her not getting up from the booth. The man she sat next to took another swig of his beer and still looked surprised to see her sitting there. Annabeth just smirked.

"I'm Annabeth," she started out not beating around the bush.

He raised his dark eyebrows looking her up and down. His mouth was no longer open in shock and he gave her a smile back.

"Percy, and uh… that was really good," he hastily spit out.

"Thanks. It's my favorite song. What brings you here on a Sunday night Percy?" she asked.

In the dim lighting she could see a dusting of blush on his cheeks. He took another sip of the Sam Adams and rubbed the back of his neck, showing off his muscles underneath the flannel. Annabeth decided right then and there she needed to bang this guy tonight. She leaned her elbow on the table and rested her head in her hand.

"Well...school starts tomorrow and, um-" he falters.

Annabeth doesn't have all night to skid with Percy. So she's decided to be blunt.

"Do you wanna come back with me and bang?" she asked.

His green eyes widen for a second before a small smile forms on his face. It's the most confident she's seen him since she started talking to him a few minutes ago. He nods his head and finishes off his beer.

Annabeth takes his hand and drags him through the throngs of people towards the front. Piper is now talking to a cute blonde. She catches her eye and winks before sticking out her pointer finger and moving it back and forth. Piper glares at her and then rolls her eyes before continuing on with her conversation with Mr. Superman.

They walk a the five blocks uptown from the bar back to her apartment. By the time she opens the door, Percy is already kissing Annabeth with passion. Quickly the clothes get stripped off as Annabeth leads to her bedroom. She's in her red lace bra and matching thong which she notices makes Percy's pupils dilate greatly. Annabeth smirks at him before bringing him down on the bed with her and she climbing on top of him.

She grabs a condom out of her nightstand and throws it at Percy to put on while she's leaving hickeys on his neck and chest. Annabeth was going to make sure she was the dominate one tonight and she had a feeling she wouldn't have a problem doing that.

* * *

The sun was shining brightly through the window of her apartment which is what woke Annabeth up. She groaned and shoved her head under her pillow trying to get a few more minutes of sleep. Her head was pounding from a hangover which was because of the shots and beer she drank at the bar last night. Just as she was about to lull back into sleep, she realized that she got laid in her bed last night. She lifted up the pillow a little bit and peaked out to see if the guy she banged last night was still sleeping. When she saw no one next to her and the side of the bed made neatly, she wondered who the hell she slept with last night.

At least he's considerate, she thought to herself and she slammed her face back into the pillow.

Once more before she could head off into dreamland, the annoying sound of her alarm clock was ringing in her ear. Annabeth let out a loud and frustrated moan into her mattress remembering she had a 10 AM class today. It was 9 already and she had to take the subway Manhattan College and then walk four blocks. She grumbled some profanities and stumbled out of her bed completely naked from last night.

She zombie walked over to the bathroom to take a quick shower to wash off all the remains from last night. Annabeth went through her usual routine, getting dressed first and doing her makeup before pouring herself some coffee from her Keurig machine and stuffing a granola bar into her mouth on the way out.

In the atrium of the apartment, she saw that Piper's clothes were strewn all over the place as well meaning she managed to snag the blonde guy from the bar. Annabeth smiled to herself silently giving a congrats to Piper. She would be sleeping until 12 at least because her first class is at 1:30. Just for being a best friend, she banged her fist on Piper's door and she heard a muffled groan and a "fuck you Beth" from the other side. Annabeth laughed and walked out the apartment not ready to take on the day.

Annabeth managed to get there five minutes before the class was scheduled to begin. It was a small class, maybe fifteen students in it tops. It was the history of architecture, which Annabeth figured could help her even if it was just an elective class really. She sat in the second row of desks and was lounging in it with her tan legs stretched out before her. She had her ray bans on because even with only some of the lights on, it was too damn bright. Annabeth was slowly sipping her coffee and then would take a sip of gatorade (even if it did taste horrible). She looked at her watch to see that it was 10:05. The professor was running a little late today. Annabeth didn't really care though.

She closed her eyes to get some quick shuteye. A moment later the door burst open with the professor running in and dropping all his stuff on the desk. Annabeth opened her eyes to look at him and her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

In front of her was a man, in his mid to late twenties. Today he was dressed extremely casually in a blue and white Raglan tshirt and some khaki shorts and dockers. His windswept black hair was somewhat pushed back by his sunglasses. He had the same thick stubble that had kissed Annabeth last night and the same tan skin and muscles that she loved touching.

She had fucked her professor last night.

Annabeth couldn't fucking believe it. She tried to lean down more into her seat, feeling extremely embarrassed. Percy hadn't noticed her yet. He took out all the papers which she assumed her the syllabuses and placed them on his desk. He turned around and wrote his name on the whiteboard in neat letters. When he faced the front again with a smile he noticed Annabeth and it dropped.

"Annabeth?" he muttered to himself.

It was going to be a _really_ long semester for the both of them.


	6. Let's Dance

**All I'm gonna say is: I regret nothing. And warning: extremely brief mention of drugs. And some language. **

**AU Prompt: 1970s disco dance partners. **

* * *

Percy lit his cigarette while he waited on the side of the street for his buddies. It was Saturday night, and he couldn't wait to hit up the Apollo's Sun, the hottest club on the Upper East Side. Cars passed by with the music blasting out of the stereos. Percy could see couples making out in the back and calling out his name when they spotted him. It was a pretty tight knit community he lived in; everyone knows everyone. The sun already had set and Percy was getting irked because time was wasting.

A light blue Cadillac pulled up honking loudly. It stopped and the front door flew open with Leo leaning over the front seat. The latino had a crazy grin on with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Percy quickly walked up and slammed the door behind him. He looked over at Leo. His curly hair looked permed close to his head. He had an orange velvet jacket and pants to match with a black shirt with three buttons undone. The gold cross necklace he had shined brightly against his dark skin.

"Ready to party Jackson?" he asked leaning back in the drivers seat.

"It's Saturday night Valdez. Of course I am."

Percy turned around towards the back seat where two other guys were sitting. Jason had his blonde hair slicked back like Percy's and had tinted sunglasses on even though it was nighttime. His light blue waistcoat and white wide collar shirt matched the color of Leo's Cadillac. Frank, a bulkier guy just had a black wide collar shirt to match with some jeans. He was the only one that Percy knew that could rock the crew cut as well as jeans at a club.

Percy leaned his arm against the chair and smirked at the two of them while grabbing his cigarette out of his mouth.

"What's up fellas? Pipes and Hazel meeting up with us tonight?"

Frank nodded his head and gave a smile to Percy.

"The girls are probably already there, given that Leo picked us up late," Frank jabbed.

"I just want to be dancing with Piper already," Jason complained taking off his sunglasses.

Leo pulled away from the curb scoffing at all his friends. He was driving recklessly as usual trying to make up for lost time.

"Well first of Zhang, this hair doesn't just do itself. It takes time. And second, Grace, I know you and Miss Movie Star will be fucking in this car tonight anyway. There won't be any dancing between you two."

As he was saying that he was blindly pointing a finger at each guy respectively. Then he turned to Percy when they were at a red light.

"And Jackson here is gonna dance his ass off, showing off all his moves and is going to try and woo some lucky girl."

Percy just shrugged in response. Leo was right of course. That's what they all did every Saturday night. Leo then pointed to himself before speeding up fifth avenue.

"And I am gonna get drunk, flirt with Calypso even though she doesn't like me and laugh at all you. It's the same thing we do every weekend boys."

The windows were rolled down on the Cadillac and the wind was blowing against Percy's arm which was sticking out of the window. Donna Summer was playing on the radio in the car getting all the guys into the mood.

When they pulled up, there was a throng of young people, walking towards Apollo's hoping for a good time. Leo slammed on the brakes after doing a horrible parallel parking job on the curb and parked the car. All four of them got out of the car and fixed their hair and straightened their clothes.

"Let's boogie," Leo said strutting across the street towards the club.

They got in pretty quickly. Percy's good friends with Argus, the bouncer for the club. When they entered, it was hot and humid. Smoke filled the air and the lights from the dancefloor were illuminating the room. Disco music was playing with couples dancing together. As the four of them made their way towards the bar area and to their usual table, you could see others snorting cocaine getting a quick high.

They all sat down in their seats. Jason grabbed a waiter who knew them and asked for their regulars. Percy already took off his jacket and was left in only his navy waistcoat and white formal shirt underneath. He was leaning back in his chair watching all the dancers go.

Will, the waiter came back with four beer bottles and passed them down the table. Percy grabbed his and took a sip. Out of the smoke haze, two girls emerged to their table and grabbed some seats.

A tan skinned woman with a short shag haircut with feathers came up and rubbed her hands on Jason. She had blue and green eyeshadow that made her kaleidoscope eyes stand out more. She had on a wrap dress that had a very low v-neck. It was white with blue and orange sequin floral pattern. It was a short dress that went to mid-thigh. Her thick heels made her taller. She had great curves which her dress accented. She went down to kiss Jason before winking at the other guys.

The other girl was an African-American. She was much shorter than the other. Her hair was in an afro and her golden eyes had gold eyeshadow around. She was wearing an orange jumpsuit and huge gold hoop earrings. She had platform heels on. She went over and kissed Frank on the cheek.

"Hey Piper, Hazel," Percy greeted.

"What's up Percy," they both said in unison.

"I'm surprised you're not on the dancefloor yet Perce," Piper said while still rubbing Jason's shoulders.

Jason had a smirk on and had his hands over hers. The two of them were so in love it was almost sickening to look at sometimes. Percy took another sip of his beer and looked towards the dancefloor.

"The right song hasn't come on yet."

Hazel laughed at his response and raised an eyebrow at him. She cocked her head to the side a little.

"Seriously? That's your excuse?" she questioned.

Donna Summer suddenly came on and Percy jumped out of his seat. He wasn't about to be made fun of by his friends. He just looked over at all of them and made his way to the dancefloor. He could tell his friends were smirking at him and laughing. It was still the slow part of the song. Percy was looking for a girl who was alone on the floor. There was usually one. And he was right.

The tan woman was in a firetruck red dress that had speghetti straps. It went into a sweetheart neckline and the front went to her mid thigh while the back went past her knees. She was in big red heels to match. If Percy wasn't looking close, he would've mistaken her for Farrah Fawcett. He was drooling over her. He walked over to her and she had her arms crossed on her chest and a dark brow risen. Her gray eyes were startling to look at but beautiful too. Percy had a lopsided smile on as he held out his hand to her in a silent invitation to dance. She just stared at it for a second before smirking and grabbing it.

The two of them made their way to the center of the dance floor. The crowd around them parted like the Red Sea. As the beat started picking up Percy pulled her towards him. They started to hustle and it seemed to just come naturally to them. He was spinning her, making her red dress flow around her like water. The steps were so easy and she knew what she was doing.

"Do you trust me?" He asked in the middle of dancing.

"Not really, but do whatever you're thinking," she responded.

He nodded and spread his legs open before swinging her through and into the air to catch and dip her. Her gray eyes widened and she smiled at him before spinning out and pointing her foot and hand perfectly out. Percy's never had this much fun dancing with anyone before. And he's pretty sure he's never seen her before because he would've noticed her.

When the song was over, she gave a small smile at him and took a step back from him. Percy gave a huge smile in response.

"May I know the name of my foxy danceparter?" Percy asked.

She just licked her lips for a moment staring him straight in the eyes. She made Percy nervous and he had no idea why. She was just intimidating in her own right. And that made her even more attractive.

"Next time you want to dance with someone, you should probably learn their name first," she responded with a small smirk, "it's polite."

"Are you going to give me a name?" he asked again.

She patted his face a little which made Percy's eyes widen. She was different from the other women he's danced with.

"It's Annabeth," she responded before walking back into the crowd of disco dancers.


	7. Night Fever

**Wow it's been a while since this got updated. Anyway, I have a few short one-shots/aus in my drive that are already posted on my Tumblr. And finally decided to put them on here. This isn't an au, but a future fic. And there is some mild nsfw, nothing too crazy. But there are mentions of sex so...read as you will. Leave a review! Enjoy!**

* * *

Percy checked his watch for what must have been the tenth time in three minutes. He was waiting until Annabeth was done getting ready for a gala at MoMA. Their friend Rachel Elizabeth Dare had a new exhibition for her paintings she slaved away on. Percy knew that because she always called him when she was stressing over a new painting. She even asked for him to pose for a few practice paintings, something he didn't tell anyone because it's kind of embarrassing.

He's attended his fair share of galas in the past couple of years. Annabeth, his wife of two years was a well-renowned architect in Manhattan as well as the world. Percy knew it was the gods helping her out after redesigning Olympus. Annabeth might not be able to paint as amazingly as Rachel, but she was an artist in her own right. She was always going off and meeting some A-list celebrities who are looking for her to design their new multi-million dollar houses.

Percy was definitely the trophy husband, which the two of them joked about. Percy didn't mind it one bit really. He loved how successful Annabeth had become. And he was in his own right as well. It was difficult adjusting back to life after Tartarus. It took him and Annabeth a long time. They had both taken a gap year and then got "home schooled" by Chiron so they could complete their high school diplomas. The idea of New Rome at the time had sounded great, but when they weren't in danger all the time, it lost its buzz. The two of them wanted to stay in New York and close to Camp, so they did. Annabeth started on her big project of New Athens to be an extension of Camp. It was still in the final stages of being built, but people had started to inhabit the houses and apartments built. It was just as beautiful as Olympus, and what Percy imagined Elysium to be like.

Now many years later, he managed to get into college and get a degree and was now a teacher. Paul pulled many strings and landed him a job as a classics and latin teacher. And it seemed to be going well because he's had the job for four years now.

Both he and Annabeth live in Manhattan on the Upper East Side. They lived in a neighborhood with a bunch of movie actors and singers going in and out daily. It still blows his mind that he see's Martin Scorsese while getting his paper every morning. It was a whole new world honestly. He was just a high school teacher, not some affluent celebrity.

The gala was starting at eight, and it was already seven. They both had to take the subway down and across Manhattan to get there on time. Percy figured that Annabeth would be another ten minutes before she was ready. Annabeth loved going to these things. She loved dressing up and getting all fancy. And Percy loved it too, his wife was _hot. _And it reminded him of how damn lucky he is to have her all to himself.

The door to their bedroom opened up and Annabeth walked out. Percy felt his eyes go wide at the sight and his brain turned to mush. She was putting in some silver earrings and talking on the phone at the same time. Her hair, which she had cut short and buzzed the right side was framing her face elegantly. She was in a sleeveless red dress which had a v-neck. She had her back to him showing off how the straps of her dress crisscrossed showing off her very toned and tanned back.

"-don't worry Rach, we'll be on time this time I swear," Annabeth promised over the phone.

"Seriously, don't stress, I'll see you in a few," she said before hanging up.

Annabeth turned around and Percy stood up still gawking over his beautiful wife. She had her hair parted to the side and held up by a silver owl clip that her brother's had bought her one year for Christmas. Her lips were covered in red lipstick that matched the color of her dress. Her gray eyes were surrounded by the perfect amount of black eyeliner and brown and red eyeshadow mixed together. Her eyelashes were covered in mascara making them look bigger and longer. Her brown eyebrows were looking sharp as always and she arched one smirking at Percy.

She walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek. He groaned.

"Now you ruined my makeup," he teased.

Annabeth let go of him and pushed him away with an eye roll. She put her hands on her hips.

"Don't you mock me Seaweed Brain. It takes a while to look this good," she retorted.

Percy walked up and kissed her on the cheek this time with a big smile. He loved the little banter like this. He put his lips to her ears.

"You always look this good my wife," he whispered.

Annabeth didn't have her heels on yet, so he still had some height over her. She tilted her head up with a smile playing on her lips. She raised her hand and ran it through his long hair. When she had cut hers, Percy decided to grow his out. He never let it get too long, but he always kept it around his shoulders and neck area. He had it half tied up before she tugged the hair tie out to run her fingers more freely through.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the hair tie back from her perfectly manicured fingers. Percy took a step back.

"You look like that one college professor that the students always go to with that long hair and thick stubble of yours," Annabeth commented.

She pretended to hate it, just Percy knew that she really loved it. Percy tied it back again but keeping his distance so Annabeth didn't pull it out again. He shrugged his shoulders.

"You're not that far off," he said nonchalantly.

"I am considered one of the hottest teachers in the school, though," he also mentioned like it wasn't a big deal.

"Don't flatter yourself there hot shot. You work in a place where you're surrounded by sexually frustrated teenagers. And you're only twenty-six, of course, girls and boys will be gunning for you," Annabeth remarked.

Percy laughs at her quick remarks. She always had a silver tongue and often used it against him. He looked at her again taking in all the curves the dress was showing off.

"You look so hot right now," he said with admiration.

Annabeth smirked and raised her left leg onto the glass coffee table. Her dress had a big slit in the side showing off her tanned and toned leg. Percy's brain really turned into mush at that moment. He really just wanted to not go to the gala right then and just wanted to have sex with his wife who looks so fucking hot in that red dress.

He moved his eyes up to Annabeth's. Her pupils were wide and he could see she wanted the same thing too. They both moved at the same time towards each other and their lips connected. They both had their hands in each others hair. Annabeth had tugged out the hair tie again and he had taken out the clip. They both fell on the couch, with Annabeth on top straddling him with her dress. They were both breathing heavy but had big smiles on their faces. Annabeth's red lipstick was smudged and Percy knew there was red all over his face. She bent down and kissed his jaw a couple of times making Percy moan. He just wanted to get out this suit. Annabeth then with a spark in her eye took off his tie and unbuttoned some of his shirt running her soft hands over his chest.

"Guess we're going to be late...again," Annabeth mused.

"Rachel is going to kill us," Percy laughed before continuing to kiss his wife.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Reviews will be greatly appreciated! Thanks again! **


	8. Kobayashi Maru

**So, I indulged myself with this au after seeing the new Star Trek movie over the summer. Percy is so horrible ooc and I kind of feel ashamed of it, but here it is anyway. Hope you like it anyway. **

* * *

As Jason and Percy walked out of class, they were in a heated argument. They were both in their third year at the Starfleet Academy; and even though they had both gone on their first field missions last year, they were starting to take leadership courses. Both of them were on track towards positions in the Command Division.

Percy kept walking forward with a skip in his step, making Jason have to jog to catch up to him. Thousands of other Cadets dressed in the red uniform of the Academy were walking around them getting to their next destination.

Jason grabbed Percy by his shoulder and pushed him to turn him around. Many cadets glared at the duo for standing in the middle of the sidewalk, but Jason didn't care at that moment. He was more worried that his friend had lost his mind suddenly.

"Percy, I love you like my brother, but are you serious right now?" Jason asked in disbelief.

Percy crossed his arms over his chest. The black haired, son of Poseidon Keani, former Captain of the U.S.S. Olympus, stared at his best friend. His green eyes were sparkling with mischief which only put Jason more on edge. Percy then uncrossed his arms and placed one around Jason's neck.

"C'mon, you don't think it's weird that no one has been able to pass the test?" Percy questioned.

Jason pushed his friend's arm off of his shoulder. They were both getting annoyed with each other now.

"It's the _Kobayashi Maru_, dumbass. You're not supposed to pass it. And only stupid people go back to do it again, no less for the third time!" Jason exclaimed.

Percy just gave him a cheeky grin, spreading wide across his face. He patted his chest before turning around.

"Well, I got some studying to do. I expect you to be there with me bright and early tomorrow morning!" he said in dismissal.

Jason watched as he not only started walking towards the wrong side of campus, which their dorm wasn't, and was waving at every girl he passed on his way.

"Study my ass," Jason grumbled before walking towards their dorm.

* * *

Percy found himself in a heated makeout session with an Orion named Ladia. He had been getting friendly and cozy with her for a week now because she was a technician at the Academy. She was a really nice girl, but Percy didn't feel the real connection with her.

They were both stripped down to their underwear, and the lighting was dim in the dorm room. Both of them had taken a breath of air, resting for a few moments.

"I think I love you," she breathed out.

Percy felt himself freeze up at the sentiment. He was still above her, and he looked down at her blue eyes that were shining. Her black hair was fanned out around her head. He must've made an obvious face of displeasure because her smile immediately turned into a frown.

"Oh boy," he groaned out, "this is so weird."

"Lights!" she commanded.

Suddenly the lights came on in the room, and she adjusted herself so she was leaning on her elbows. Ladia gave a glare at Percy who moved back and was sitting in the space between her legs on the bed.

"Weird? Are you kidding?" she said with disgust.

He gave a wince and was about to explain himself. The clicking of the door was heard. Ladia forgot her anger with Percy and motioned for him to get off the bed.

"Get off!" she whispered.

He quickly got off the bed and stood up. He was confused as to what was happening.

"Wait, why?" he asked.

"Just get under the bed. My roommate will kill me if she see's I brought another guy back to the dorm!" she explained.

She threw his clothes to him and he made his way under the bed. The door opened up and the clacking of heeled boots could be heard. He listened to the two girls talking. Percy getting curious because he's sworn he's heard that voice before, moved so he could see who it was. The roommate in question was undressing down to her bra and underwear. When Percy saw her face, he almost gave himself away with a gasp.

It was the girl he flirted with while he was drunk in New York. And he knew that she was Jason's crush. He couldn't wait to tell his friend that he saw his crush undress before he did.

"Yeah I was tracking solar systems when I picked up an emergency transmission," McLean said.

He still didn't know the girl's first name. She refused to tell him. Percy could tell that Ladia wasn't interested in what McLean was saying at all, but was going along with it.

"Yeah, it was from a Klingon prison planet. A Klingon armada was destroyed. Forty-seven ships," she explained.

She took off her cadet skirt and left it on the ground. Her white bra and underwear were vibrant against her tan skin. Percy understood why Jason was crushing on her.

"So, you're not heading back to the lab tonight?" Ladia asked.

Suddenly McLean stiffened up. Percy knew that was trouble right away. She turned around, her hazel eyes narrowed in suspicion. She put her hands on her hips. There was a small smirk on her face.

"Ladia, who is he?" she asked.

"Who's who?" She deflected.

Her eyebrows arched up and her smirk grew on her face.

"I'm not an idiot. The mouth breather who's hiding under your bed."

Percy took that as his cue to get out from his hiding spot. When he stood up and faced her, he gave a lopsided smile. McLean's smirk vanished in an instant and a scowl took it's placed instead. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Could you really hear me breathing from under there? I thought I was being pretty subtle," he joked.

"You!" she exclaimed.

Percy quickly collected his clothes from under the bed and pointed a finger at her and smiled.

"Hey, big day tomorrow right?" he asked in a happy tone.

McLean picked up his cadet jacket and threw it at him. She started to push him out of her dorm.

"You're going to fail."

He turned around, waved to Ladia who gave a grimace back. He looked down at her hazel eyes which always seemed to change color in the lighting.

"That's not the proper way to look at things," he chided

"It's true."

"How about I strike a deal? I pass, you tell me your first name?"

"NO!" She yelled.

"Okay, how about a first date with Jason Grace? He's pretty cute on the eyes right?" he tried to compromise.

A blush formed on her face, making Percy smile even more. A second later he was pushed out the door harshly, with her glaring daggers at him.

"Also, picking up a Klingon transmission is pretty cool!" he praised.

She just gave him a sarcastic smile before shutting the door on him.

* * *

All the cadets were at their stations, ready for the stimulation. Percy was sitting in the Captain's chair, apple in hand. The countdown reached zero and the exercise began. McLean was his communication's officer this time around. Her long brown hair was up in a high ponytail. She turned around in her chair, whipping her hair around with her.

She gave Percy a sarcastic smile.

"We are receiving a distress signal from the U.S.S Kobayashi Maru. The starship has lost power and is stranded. Starfleet has commanded us to rescue them," she said in a bored sarcastic tone.

Percy took it in stride with him. He turned from McLean in his chair to face the center of the bridge.

"Starfleet has ordered us to rescue them, _Captain_," he emphasized just to get on her nerves.

He heard her scoff before she turned back to her station. Percy let out a smirk. He was enjoying this way too much. Jason turned around to face him. His light blue eyes were glaring at Percy. He winked back in response. He rolled his eyes and turned back to his station, pressing a few buttons.

"Two Klingon ships have entered the neutral zone and are locking weapons onto us," Jason explained.

Percy just shrugged his shoulders and laid back in his chair. He even put one of his legs over the arm of the chair.

"That's okay."

Jason turned around with disbelief written all over his face.

"That's okay?" he questioned.

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

The buzzing and alarms blaring in the bridge made Jason turn back around again to his station. He pressed a few more buttons.

"Three more Klingon ships have decloaked and are locking weapons on us too. I suppose this won't be a problem either, Captain?" Jason asked with distaste.

"They're firing, Captain," another one of his crewmates said.

Percy clapped his hands together and turned towards McLean again. He pointed a finger at her.

"Okay, alert the medical bay to prepare to receive all crewmembers from the damaged ship," he commanded.

McLean crossed her arms over her chest before pointing to the screen showing the mini-armada of Klingon ships.

"How do you expect us to rescue the people when they're surrounded by Klingon ships?" she asked with annoyance.

He leaned over his chair towards her.

"Alert medical," he said slowly in a loud whisper.

Percy was pretty sure he heard a growl escaped her lips as she whipped around. Suddenly sirens started to blare emergency warnings. The whiz of lasers being blasted echoed around the bridge.

"We're being hit. Our shields are at sixty percent," Jason informed.

"Understood."

Jason threw his hands up in the air a little bit.

"Should we, I don't know, do something about it? Like fire back?" he asked in a ticked off tone.

Percy threw the apple in his hand up before catching it and taking a big bite out of it.

"Nah."

"Of course not," he heard Jason mutter.

He opened up his little portable tablet he had and sent the email to Ladia that would activate the virus he planted in the computer. Just as he sent it, the power in the stimulation flickered off. Everyone in his crew looked around in confusion for a moment, before it came back on. Percy gave a smirk and took another bite of his apple.

"Hmph. Arm photons and prepare to fire on the Klingons," he commanded.

"Yes, sir."

Jason turned around, confusion still written on his face.

"Percy, their shields are still up."

Percy cocked his head to the side, mirroring the confusion on his friend's face. He looked at the screen then back to Jason.

"Are you sure about that?"

Jason turned around in his seat, scanning his screens and pressing buttons. Instead of confusion, there was a more startled and surprised look on his face.

"No...they're not," he said in shock.

"Okay, fire on all enemy ships," Percy demanded, "a photon on each ship should do it. Don't want to waste ammunition right?"

He heard a small chuckle escape his crewmate as he pressed the buttons to launch the weapons.

"Target locked on to all warbirds. Firing," he said.

They all watched as the missiles launched and destroyed all the Klingon ships on the simulation screen. Percy was proud of himself, while the rest of his crew was still in shock on how they beat the system. As he heard the explosions, he gave a finger gun making his own sound effects as well.

"All ships destroyed sir."

"Begin the rescue of the stranded crew," he quickly ordered.

He then stood up from his chair and walked around the bridge. He had his arms open and a smile planted on his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw McLean scoff but she had a small smile on her face.

"So, we were able to destroy all the enemy ships, no one onboard was injured in the process," he went over and patted Jason on the back, "and the rescue of the Kobayashi Maru crew is underway," he summed up.

He turned towards the people up in the observation deck and waved while taking another bite of his apple.

"I'd say this was a mission well done."

* * *

"I wonder what the calling's for," Jason wondered as he fixed the collar to his cadet uniform.

"Beat's me. I just hope it's quick. I'd rather be anywhere else," Percy responded.

There was a sea of red that was walking to the Court Room on campus. Their entire class had gotten an email stating that they were all required to show up at precisely eleven hundred hours that morning.

Both Percy and Jason entered walking down to the amphitheater-like room and took their seats. Two rows down was McLean, who gave a small smile to Jason and a half-hearted glare to Percy. The board of justices sat in front of the room.

When everyone filed in, the head justice called for everyone's attention. Immediately it became silent as they paid attention. Commanders in their gray uniforms sat on the sides of the rows forming lines on either side of the stairs.

"Good morning, Cadets and Commanders. I have called you all today for a hearing, about the actions of a certain member of your class," Admiral Skylar addressed.

It still remained silent, but all the cadets were looking and eyeing each other with suspicion, wondering who the accused could be. Admiral Skylar cleared his throat before proceeding.

"The cadet in question is Perseus Jackson."

Percy stiffened in his seat, suddenly sitting up straighter. He looked down at the blue eyes of the Admiral before standing up to go down to the podium provided for him. He looked back at Jason who looked shocked.

"Cadet Jackson, evidence has been submitted to this council suggesting that you violated the ethical code of conduct pursuant to regulation 1-7.4-3 of the Starfleet Code," he read off.

Still confused as to why he was being accused, but nervous about all the attention he was getting, he ran a hand through his hair. He turned back around to face the council who all had stone faces on.

"Anything you wish to say before we begin your hearing?" Admiral Skylar asked.

He just looked at the head admiral for a minute before leaning down towards his microphone. He took a deep breath.

"Yes, I believe I have the right to face my accuser directly."

Admiral Skylar nodded his head in approval before turning towards the crowd. Percy tried to see where he was staring at exactly so he could see who it was who accused him of cheating. A moment later a tall, blonde woman in a commander's uniform, stood up and walked down the stairs to the other podium provided.

Upon closer inspection, her curly blonde hair was up in a high ponytail. She had bangs that covered her forehead including where her eyebrows would be. She had pointed ears, and when she turned towards him had startling gray eyes. Percy was entranced by her but at the same time offended that she was the accuser.

"This is Commander Chase. She is one of our most distinguished graduates. She has programmed the Kobayashi Maru exam for the last four years," Admiral Skylar introduced.

"Commander," he prompted.

She stood up straight and held her chin up high. She placed her hands behind her back while looking forward.

"Cadet Jackson, you somehow managed to install and activate a subroutine in the programming code, thereby changing the conditions of the examination," she swiftly accused.

Her voice was calm and steady. Percy had to keep himself from being distracted by the Commander. After a moment of silence, he bent down to the microphone.

"And your point is?" he questioned.

"To put it simply, you cheated," Admiral Skylar said, butting in.

Percy had to use all his restraint to not roll his eyes at that moment. It was a lot harder than he thought.

Muttering broke out in the chamber between the cadets. Percy took a deep breath and sighed. He mirrored Commander Chase's stance by putting his hands behind his back and standing up straight.

"Let me ask you something," he scoffed a little, "I think we all know the answer to."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Commander Chase narrow her eyes at him. He turned his head towards her and looked her straight in the eyes.

"The test itself is a cheat," he declared.

"I mean, you programmed it to be unbeatable."

"Your argument precludes a no-win scenario," she calmly stated.

Percy just shook his head. The voice of Captain Brunner echoing in his head about how his father hadn't believed in no-win scenarios.

"I don't believe in no-win scenarios Commander," he countered.

"Then not only did you violate the rules of the examination, you also failed to understand the main lesson of the stimulation," he even tone rebutted.

"And what is that, Commander Chase? Please enlighten me," he said with a snarky tone.

"You of all people should know this Cadet Jackson."

The look in her eye warned Percy that she was about to go off on him. He tried to mentally prepare himself quickly.

"A captain cannot cheat death," she declared stoically.

Percy felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He felt the breath come out of him, but he quickly regained his composure. He swallowed and took a breath before looking back at the Commander in front of him. He looked down at the wooden podium.

"I of all people," he quietly said.

"Your father, lieutenant Poseidon Keani of the U.S.S. Olympus, assumed command of his vessel before being killed in action, did he not?" She asked for clarification.

The mention of his father brought back some ugly emotions that he really didn't want to deal with. But he couldn't just put them on the back burner.

"I don't think you like the fact that I beat your test," he said sharply.

"Furthermore, you have failed find the purpose of the test." He could hear her tone start to gain more emotion as well, even though she tried to quell it.

"Enlighten me again, Commander," he dared.

"The purpose of the stimulation is to experience fear," she clarified.

There was a silence between the two of them for a moment. Eyes locked onto each other accusingly.

"Fear in the face of certain death. To accept that fear and maintain control of oneself and your crew. I know you know this is a quality expected in every Starfleet Captain."

A moment later, a Commander came down to the Council holding a tablet. He gave a soft "excuse me," before handing it over to Admiral Skylar. He looked over what was on it before looking back up.

"We have received a distress call from Vulcan," he addressed.

Percy saw Commander Chase perk up at the mention of the planet. That must be where she's from, Percy guessed. Even though she didn't look like a typical Vulcan.

"With our primary fleet in the Laurentian system, I order all cadets to report to hangar one immediately. Dismissed.

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**This was completely self-indulgent like damn. Anyway I love the idea of half human, half Vulcan Annabeth like throw me a bone here. Anyway terribly sorry for Percy, god he was so not himself. Anyway, reviews are always welcome! Thanks!**


	9. Puppy Love

**So, I really love dogs. And Percy definitely seems like a Golden Retriever type. And it's canon that Annabeth had a Doberman early in life, so I decided to add that in there, and a German because they're cute. And Annabeth would totally rock those dogs. Anyway, hope you like it! **

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Percy remembered exactly how he had gotten his dog. He had gone straight out of high school and into the blue collar job of being a firefighter in the FDNY. He had become friends with college students because of his best friend Rachel, who went to school at Fordham University in the Bronx. So when she was in her junior year, he had found roommates in their mutual friends Grover and Piper. Rachel, being on an academic scholarship was required to stay on campus.

Like any college student, who was swamped and drowning in homework and paper hell, dogs were always a stress reliever. The college often brought dogs in during midterms and finals so that students could cuddle and coo over them and not think about dying.

And Percy had loved doing that. Even though he didn't even go to school, being a firefighter was stressful. When he knew they were coming, he'd be standing right outside waiting. But he also longed for his own dog to have. So that's how he ended up at Petsmart during puppy adoption day and impulsively adopted a golden retriever puppy.

He had fallen in love with all of the little pups. It made him sad that they were in cages, but whenever he asked to see one, the employee would take them out. They would be the happiest pups in the world, they would get all excited wagging their tails (or their entire butts which were just as cute and amusing to see), and they would start licking his face like he was their savior. And he would laugh and play with them, let them teeth on his fingers.

But the little golden retriever had stolen his heart from the very first moment. She wasn't nearly as outgoing as the other puppies. A little more reserved, but when Percy had walked up to her, her tail started wagging and a smile came to her face. Almost like she had been waiting for him.

Immediately Percy had called the employee over and had him fill out the paperwork. He put his mom and Rachel as references because he knew they'd be the most reliable ones. And he wanted to surprise Grover and Piper with the new addition. Once that was all good, he had left the puppy for a few minutes and did a quick shop for some necessities like food, a food bowl, bags, toys, a cage, a leash, and of course, treats.

When he paid for his stuff, he brought the bags back and went to his new found puppy. He had brought the pup into a big hug and gave her a big kiss on the head, which she returned with enthusiasm. He put the new collar around her neck, which of course didn't have a tag on it yet because he hadn't named her yet. And then hooked the leash around and started on their merry way.

When Percy arrived back in his apartment, he let the pup run free. She pranced around sniffing everything in the area, barking happily about her new home. Percy had gone to work on the cage and making sure everything was puppy safe in the apartment.

He had taken a picture of the smiling golden and sent it in the group chat. The response had been almost immediate. Piper commented on how she was so cute. Grover said that all puppies are cute, and then said that the couch looked familiar. And that's when all hell broke loose on the chat.

All Percy said in response was: potential names? It didn't win him any brownie points.

But as soon as Piper stepped through the door, her mask of anger melted at the sight of the golden. She walked over to the small puppy and started to pet and play with her.

"God damn it, Jackson, you had to pick the cutest puppy to ever exist?" she asked.

Percy just shrugged his shoulder with a big smile on his face. He waved a chew toy in front of her and she jumped to get it. When he raised it up higher, she jumped higher, determined to get the toy.

"I literally took one look at her and signed the papers. And don't worry, I've already puppy-proofed the house. And I will train her and take care of her."

"Where are you gonna get the money to vaccinate her?" Piper inquired.

He had thought about that too. It wasn't a totally rash decision, Percy gave himself some credit.

"I'll use the money my dad gives me every month for it. I've saved quite a stash for something like this. It will be a-okay."

Piper gave out a laugh before rubbing the golden's tummy.

"Well, any names for her?"

"Nope."

It had taken almost two weeks before Percy decided on a name. He had researched about Golden Retrievers in his spare time and found out he could see what color she was going to be as an adult by looking at the fur on her ears. She had dark golden fur, meaning she was going to be dark in color. And he had just re-watched Star Wars, and her future fur color reminded him a little of Ahsoka's color. And that was how she became known as Ahsoka.

He had trained her rigorously. Percy had found a group that trained dogs for special enforcement. Because she was a Golden and worked with a firefighter, Percy had trained Ahsoka to be an SAR dog. And when he told all his friends at the firehouse that he'd gotten a new dog, they told him to bring her. So the next time he had a shift, he brought Ahsoka and all her needs down to the station. And that was how she ended up being the resident firehouse dog.

Whenever they had to go to work, Ahsoka would join in with the crew. They had trained her to be able to find missing people. She and Percy would go in and look for any survivors. Percy would often let Ahsoka off leash so she could do her job and wait for her bark to indicate her location. They would usually go in after a majority of the fire had been put out. But if it was a big emergency, they would go in right away.

Once she had done her first job, Ahsoka became a comfort dog. She would let people who survived or who were grieving hold and pet her. She was probably the most valuable member of the team. Many people had thanked her personally through letters, emails and in person for helping them in a variety of ways.

He also trained her to do some silly tricks as well. She knew how to high five him, dance for a treat, roll over and speak. She was the best companion he'd ever had. And she was so well trained, most of the time she didn't need a leash.

And now, five years later, she was still his best friend. It was their day off, and it was a beautiful day in the middle of spring. He decided that they were going to spend the day in Central Park.

He did his usual morning routine of showering, eating breakfast, giving some of it to Ahsoka while she patiently waited for him to either drop it or willingly give it over. He could never resist those brown eyes of hers. Years of obedience training paid off, and she was always eager to please Percy.

It was just the two of them in the apartment now. Piper and Grover had moved out with their significant others a few years back. Meaning he was able to find a cheaper and smaller apartment that was also closer to the fire station. And also that meant more treats and toys for Ahsoka, which she didn't complain about.

When he was ready, he did his command whistle. Ahsoka barked in response and ran over to him panting and tail wagging in excitement. Percy had a frisbee in hand, along with a jug of water and her bowl in his backpack. He snapped the leash around her collar before they headed out.

People normally didn't say anything or ask to pet the dog while on the sidewalks. He would get a little kid occasionally be excited to see a dog, and many people made cooing noises as they passed by. His favorite though was when people would gasp and said: "Look! A dog!" But otherwise, they would stay on their path. Which Percy was grateful for, he didn't want to be the cause of sidewalk traffic; especially not in the middle of Manhattan.

It took him around fifteen minutes to walk over towards Central Park. He walked through Columbus Circle, where hundreds of tourists and locals mingled together into one giant mob. He was on the south end of the park, and the two of them made their way up towards one of the large fields provided.

They made it to Sheep Meadow, where there were other people lounging in the sun, playing games of football and soccer. Some students trying to study or do homework in vain. And there were plenty of dogs running around as well. Ahsoka seemed to be joyous about that. She was very much a people and dog, dog.

Percy set up his spot by laying down a blanket he brought and bringing out the bowl and water for Ahsoka. He filled it up, which Ahsoka went to immediately drink in as much as she could. He took out his own water bottle and drowned that down. It was mid-morning and the heat was already rising in the open air of New York.

Ahsoka barked, notifying Percy that she was ready to play. She was bouncing on her paws in anticipation. Percy smiled and ruffled her head before digging his frisbee out. When she saw the disk she jumped on her hinds before running out into the field with Percy right behind.

He let out a different command whistle: two quick ones. This meant for her to stop and listen. Percy got into position with his frisbee.

"Okay, Ahsoka. Are you ready?" he asked.

He threw the frisbee, and as it went flying across the green, Ahsoka went sprinting after it as well. Percy watched as she jumped into the air catching it in her mouth. Her dark golden fur glittered in the sunlight. She looked majestic as she ran back to Percy and dropped the disk into his outstretched hand.

"Oh, what a good girl. That was a great catch," he praised while petting her all around.

Ahsoka had a big smile on her face, one that matched the day he first saw her. She nuzzled her snout into his leg and then her entire body. Her silky coat was soft to the touch, but he didn't want it to get too tangled. Or else he'd be brushing for hours tonight.

Percy waved the frisbee in her face once more to get her attention back into the game. She got into the stance.

"Okay Ahsoka, go long!"

He flicked the frisbee far and long, and Ahsoka ran after it with vigor and youth. Percy realized quickly that he seemed to have thrown it too far and started running after Ahsoka. Suddenly he hit something solid and fell down to the ground tangled up.

The collision had made him disoriented for a few moments before he shook his head to clear his thoughts. When his vision cleared he was face to face with two growling dogs; not just any dogs, though. They weren't the small one's that tried to act tough. These were big dogs, a German Shepherd, and a Doberman Pinscher.

He let out a yelp of surprise and fear at the ferocious looking dogs. Percy scrambled so he was leaning on his hands on the ground. He looked over to what he had collided with, only to see a blonde woman in the same position, backing away from Ahsoka. Percy had only seen her in guard mode a few times.

"Ahsoka, down," Percy commanded.

Immediately, she sat down and went out of guard mode. He couldn't see the woman's face, but he saw her shoulders slump in relief. Then she turned around, and Percy was struck by how stunning she was.

She had a strong jawline and a long nose that made her seem regal. Her face that thin, and she had a splash of freckles going across her nose and onto her cheek. She flicked her gray eyes to him for a moment before turning back to the dogs.

"Kuvira, Kaiser, stand down," she demanded.

She had a strong voice that commanded respect. And the dogs seemed to sense that as well. They followed her orders, but still had their eyes trained on him. She turned her attention to Percy and had an apologetic smile on her face.

"Sorry for my dogs. They're just extremely protective of me," she apologized.

He stood up and offered a hand to her. She took it and he lifted her up from the ground. They both looked at their dogs who were waiting for something to happen. Apparently, they were all expertly trained in obedience. He gave a smile walking over to Ahsoka and petting her head affectionately. She even brought the frisbee back for him. He loved her so much.

"It's all right. Just wasn't expecting such menacing dogs to be in my face," he said with a little laugh.

She let out a chuckle as well before waving her hand over to Ahsoka.

"Your dog was pretty menacing towards me. I don't think I've ever seen a Golden that angry before."

The woman walked to her two dogs. She put her hand out for them to sniff and they both started licking her hand. She then pets them both on the heads and behind their ears. They leaned into her obviously enjoying being rubbed in that spot.

"Well, sorry again for running into you. I'm Percy," he introduced putting his hand out.

She looked at it for a moment before firmly shaking it.

"It's okay. I'm pretty sure it was me who ran into you, though. I'm Annabeth."

"Nice to meet you Annabeth...and?" he asked wanting to know the dog's names again.

She gave a small smile before pointing to the German Shepherd.

"This is Kuvira," the Shepherd seemed to lift her snout a little higher at the introduction; like she was proud of herself.

And then pointed to the Doberman, "and this is Kaiser."

He stayed silent but kept his eyes keenly on Percy. Like he was waiting for him to make a wrong move on his master and he'd attack.

"Kuvira and Kaiser sound like a badass duo," he joked.

Annabeth shrugged her shoulders like it wasn't a big deal, but he could see the proud smile on her face.

"Yeah, they're my work dogs. They're police dogs, and I guess they should have cool names."

"That's funny, Ahsoka is my work dog too. She is an SAR dog, for my fire department. I mean it's not as badass sounding as Kaiser, but it definitely fits her personality."

Annabeth looked over at Ahsoka who had her happy-go-lucky face back on again. She looked at Percy.

"Can I pet her?" she asked gingerly putting a hand out.

"Yeah, she won't bite."

She let Ahsoka sniff her hand, and when she deemed Annabeth okay she let out a big, slobbery kiss making Annabeth laugh. She ran her fingers through her fur a few times before stepping back.

"You can pet them too. As long as I tell them you're not a threat. I swear Kuvira is a mush underneath her hard exterior. Kaiser takes a little warming up to. But he won't bite."

"Kuvira, Kaiser he is _safe_," she emphasized the last word.

An understanding went through their eyes and they were no longer tense. Percy put his hand out for them to sniff. Kuvira put her muzzle into his hand letting him pet her under her chin and over her ears. Kaiser turned his head away, not interested.

"Don't get too offended by him. He's like that to basically everyone."

"No worries. At least he's not being aggressive."

"I feel like I've seen you here before," she inquired. Her gray eyes were narrowed like she was trying to remember him.

"Well, I'm here basically every time I'm off. So most weekends. You've probably seen me."

She nodded her head like the logic made sense. She gave another smile and looked down to her dogs.

"Well, maybe I'll see you soon. And our dogs won't be in over-protective mode. Maybe they'll even play with each other. It might not seem like it but Kaiser loves games with other dogs. He just has to warm up to them. And Ahsoka here seems like she'd get along with them."

"Maybe we can do a dog play date," he suggested.

Secretly he hoped he could get Annabeth's number because he really wanted to get to know her. All she did was laugh in response like it was a great joke.

"See you around. Kaiser, Kuvira let's go."

With that, she gave a wave before walking away with her dogs at her side. Percy let out a sigh and looked down to Ahsoka.

"Well so much for getting her number," he told her.

She just whimpered in response, before picking up the frisbee ready for another round.

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**Hope you liked it! Once again indulging myself in the names because I love Ahsoka from Star Wars and Kuvira from Legend of Korra. Also, Kaiser is such a badass name and it's perfect for a German dog! Anyway, reviews are welcome! Thank you!**


	10. Side To Side

**Don't even ask why this idea came to me. The song came on, it was late and I wrote this in 45 minutes. A little NSFW but once again, nothing explicit. Read as you will. Enjoy!**

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Percy always saw the same girl in the gym, on the same day at the same time every time he went. He had only moved into the apartment complex with his three buddies six months ago, and when he had discovered the gym the building had (that was included in his rent for membership, score!), Percy was so glad he didn't have to trek down the streets of Brooklyn to get his workout in. He wouldn't mind it too much in the more temperate seasons of Spring and Fall, but Summer and Winter? Forget it. He'd rather not have to walk out in the sweltering heat only to go sweat some more in a gym, or go out in the freezing cold and leave the gym not wanting to wear anything but his workout clothes because he was so hot.

Therefore, Percy was so thankful that he never had to leave the comfort of the apartment building to work out. He needed to keep up his health and stamina for his job as a firefighter, and he also just didn't want to get too lazy. Plus, working out always gave him an endorphin high and it was a way to expel all of the pent up energy he had from being ADHD.

Sometimes he was able to get Frank, one of his roommates to go down to work out with him, but the guy was more of a martial arts type. Even though the guy was almost seven feet tall and looked as intimidating as a WWE wrestler. Grover would only come if Percy promised to get enchiladas, or he swore he could make his vegetarian dinners that night (which Percy actually wasn't opposed to, Grover was a pretty good chef). And even when Grover did come, he mostly just spotted Percy while he lifted weights. Jason was the other one who worked out just as much as Percy did. But he always went to the gym his girlfriend Piper went to and instructed Zumba at. The blonde would never admit it to him, but Percy swore that he secretly loved to dance that (and it might just be to impress his girlfriend).

So that left Percy solo most of the time. Not that he really minded, sometimes alone time was good for him. Living with three other guys, alone time was a rarity.

The gym wasn't packed, as usual during the week. Percy always seemed to be placed on the night shifts down at the station, so he always had free time during the day. And he usually started his day off with working out.

He arrived at eight AM, and there were two other people there. The blonde who he has been crushing on for six months, who was running on the treadmill at an alarmingly fast pace, and some guy who looked like he belonged in a typical frat house. The dude-bro type.

The morning news was on, and he saw the blonde was watching it while running, but she obviously wasn't listening because she had headphones plugged into her ears. Her iPhone was strapped onto her bicep as she kept running.

Her hair was tied up in a tight and high ponytail, her blonde curls swishing with every stride she made. She was in a black Nike sports bra and some under armor shorts that clung to her thighs and made Percy's head spin. Her tan skin was glistening with sweat, but she was running like it was nothing.

Percy wished he had the balls to go up and talk with her. They had exchanged some small smiles before, but had never had an actual conversation. He didn't even know her name, just referred to her as the Hot Blonde From The Gym.

He watched her run for a few more moments, watching her boobs move up and down and wishing that he could just date her already damn it. Suddenly she turned her head to the side, so he could see the profile of her face. Startled that he was almost caught checking her out, he moved to the other side to start lifting weights and pretended that he wasn't just watching her ass and boobs like a creeper.

Percy took out his iPhone and turned on his workout playlist on Spotify while plugging the headphones into his ears. Guns N' Roses started to blast into his ears with their epic guitar solo riffs and he began to stretch out his muscles.

He had positioned himself so he could still see the blonde, but wouldn't be so obvious. She was still running on the treadmill, occasionally checking her Fitbit on her wrist. After a few minutes of stretching his arms and legs, he got to work on his biceps. The weights weren't too heavy, and he wouldn't be doing anything crazy because he didn't have a spotter with him.

Ten minutes later, she pressed a button on the treadmill and slowed to a stop. She stepped off and put two fingers to her pulse timing it, while still looking up at the TV. She then raised her arms above her head, her back and shoulder muscles stretching and giving Percy a front row view. She then bent down to touch the floor, and seeing her ass, Percy almost passed out right then and there. She was the most stunning woman he'd ever seen.

"Oh my god," he muttered trying to conceal his own sexual frustration.

Unfortunately, his voice caught her attention. She twisted her body to face him, giving him a view of her abs. A dark blonde eyebrow was quirked up in his direction, her gray eyes analyzing him. Percy felt the blush form on his face, and he hoped that the humid atmosphere, the fact he was working out and that he had a tan skin complexion would cover it up. He gave an awkward smile and a weird wave to her.

Her other eyebrow quirked up in response and then she smirked, allowing a small chuckle out. Then she turned around and continued to stretch, twisting her body in ways that made him crazy. But this time, it was like she was doing it in slow motion, deliberately trying to mess with him.

Percy felt the heat spread to his neck, and he threw his head back. He then continued on with his workout trying to get the images of the blonde's body out of his head. If it continued, he'd probably drop a weight on his foot and break it. And that would probably be a really fucking stupid and embarrassing first impression. He still had to keep some of his dignity intact if he could help it, god damn it.

He saw the blonde then go over to the ellipticals. She strode over there with confidence and she stole a look at him with a smirk playing on her lips. Before she stepped on, she yanked her hair tie out, letting her golden blonde curls fall down to her shoulders like a gold cascade. She ruffled and fluffed her hair before scooping it all up into a messy bun that somehow looked extremely sexy.

If he was being completely honest with himself, Percy was surprised he hadn't popped a boner yet. Scared by that thought, he quickly looked down to make sure he hadn't. He let out a sigh of relief. That was the last thing he needed her to see while he was working out. He would've been mortified and would probably never show his face here ever again.

And it just so happened that the ellipticals were facing the opposite of where he was, meaning that her back would be facing him. She started to pump her legs up and down, at first going at a decent pace. Percy went to the next station to work on his arms. He refused to blatantly watch her work out the entire time. That was very creepy, and he didn't want to give off the vibe of being a fuckboy.

He turned up the music louder so he would be distracted by the rock n' roll instead. He started bobbing his head to AC/DC, letting the shouting emerge him into his own world. But, like the universe was trying to conspire against him, _You Shook Me All Night Long_ came on shuffle. He bit back a _fuck_ but was too lazy to change the song (plus it was really good in other situations!) Therefore let the song keep playing. He fought back looking over at the blonde as the lyrics played, and just made his workout more intense in order to distract himself.

Eventually, though, he couldn't help himself and he glanced over to her. She seemed to be going at a much slower pace, her legs moving up and down like it was in slow motion. Percy had a feeling that she was somehow on to him, and was doing this on purpose. If that was the case, he really needed to work on his subtleness.

When he was finished with his workout, it was nearing 9:30. He did some cool down stretches, forgetting for a moment about the blonde. When he was finished he turned around to see her leaning casually against one of the equipment. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and one of her legs crossed over the other. She had a small smile and her gray eyes weren't as intense as he was used to seeing them.

"Do you always check out girls in the gym, or am I just special?" she asked.

Percy was shocked. It must have been very evident on his face because she let out a small chuckle that seemed to light up the entire world. Her voice was melodic, higher than he thought it would be, but smooth. He blatantly stared at her for a few moments, before he actually looked at her face and saw she was waiting for him to answer her.

He shook his head, running a hand through his hair and tugging on it a little.

"N-No," he stuttered out.

"No to what? Checking girls out or me being special?" she teased.

Percy felt his face grow ten degrees hotter. This was so fucking embarrassing, and he could see she was enjoying every moment of it.

"I don't normally check out girls. Sorry," he hastily apologized.

She shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant way, brushing a stray curl from out of her face. It was really cute when she did that.

"Don't sweat it. I mean it's not the first time I've caught you staring at me. But since you've never actually cat called me or anything, I figured you're pretty chill."

His jaw slackened at her statement. Then he rubbed both of his hands over his face which was covered in a sheet of sweat. He let out a groan.

"Oh my god, this is so fucking embarrassing," he said into his hands before looking back up at her.

She gave a laugh at that, one that filled the entire room. It was loud and it kind of sounded more like a cackle, but he still liked the sound of it anyway. It fit her perfectly.

"Hey, you're not so bad on the eyes either, mister six-pack," she complimented.

Percy almost gave a self-conscious look over himself but decided to just take the compliment in stride with him. It was the first time he wasn't causing any public humiliation to himself. And he was sure she just admitted to checking him out too.

"So you've checked me out too?" he wondered with a smirk of his own.

She just nodded a little with an eyebrow quirked up.

"Ah, there's the confidence. It was hiding from you."

"And you were purposely distracting me today weren't you?" he said crossing his own arms. He might have been flexing his arms on purpose.

She just shrugged her shoulders but her smile gave her away and confirmed his suspicions.

"Well once I saw you walk in and just stand in the entrance way, I feel like I had to fuck around with you. Just a little," she said closing her pointer finger and thumb close together.

Percy nodded his head laughing along with her. He mirrored her position by casually leaning on the equipment as well.

"Fair enough. I'm Percy by the way," he introduced.

"Annabeth," she said putting her hand out in a gesture of a handshake. Her grip was firm and strong and it was the perfect time of three seconds. At least someone knew how to properly handshake.

"So," he started awkwardly not knowing how to proceed.

"I'm just gonna save you the trouble, and ask for you. Do you want to go on a date with me?" she asked with a shit eating grin on her face.

"Thanks for that," he said with a smile, "and yes I would. I mean the sexual tension was pretty strong don't you think?"

"Let's see how a first date goes before you get ahead of yourself cowboy," she lightly warned.

"Just because I was messing around with you by trying to give you a boner because you were staring at my ass and boobs doesn't mean I want to actually fuck you," she said before hesitating and adding "yet."

That just made her even more desirable, but he could wait. Percy could be patient with things, especially if he didn't want to ruin an opportunity he'd been waiting for, for six months.

"I can deal with that."

"Good," she declared with a nod.

"I live in apartment 2C, you know the one right below yours."

Percy was shocked that she knew where he lived.

"What?" he questioned in confusion.

"The four of you stomp around like elephants and talk and scream like hyenas. Kind of impossible to ignore you."

"You're the one who slams the broom against the floor?" he asked in astonishment.

"It rotates between the four of us who does it, but yeah. So just a heads up, shut the hell up okay?" she said with a wink.

"And pick me up tomorrow at six. We're going out to the movies."

"Apartment 2C, tomorrow, six. Got it."

She took a step forward and patted him on the shoulder before turning around and leaving.

He couldn't wait to tell the guys he finally had a name to the Hot Blonde and he scored a date with her. Best day ever.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Reviews are always welcome. Thank you! **


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